


Never say Never

by ArielAquarial



Series: Never say Never [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angel Castiel (Supernatural), Big Brother Gabriel, Caring Dean Winchester, Castiel's First Kiss (Supernatural), Dead John Winchester, Dean Winchester Has Self-Worth Issues, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Rituals, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, NaNoWriMo, Past Anna Milton/Dean Winchester, Wing Grooming, Wing Kink, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-08 02:10:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 50,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21468349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielAquarial/pseuds/ArielAquarial
Summary: After how things ended with Anna, Dean Winchester decides he’s done dating angels. Things work out perfectly fine, until he does his brother a favor and Castiel is thrust into his life. It doesn't take long for Dean to rethink his decision. Unfortunately for him, Castiel doesn't seem interested in him.  In fact, Castiel doesn't seem interested in anyone.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Series: Never say Never [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885582
Comments: 47
Kudos: 562
Collections: The Destiel Fan Survey Favs Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be three chapters and an epilogue!

It was a truth universally acknowledged, that angels who left heaven in favor of a new life on earth, were in want of a mate. The other truth, known only to those who took their heads out of their own asses, was that they were all a bunch of dicks. Class A, stuck up, feathered dicks.

Ok, so maybe he was being a little dramatic.

They weren't _all_ dicks. Just most. Anna? Dick. Balthasar? Also a dick. Gadreel? Dick without a sense of humor. That was pretty much where his angel acquaintances ended. Dean was sure that somewhere out there, very far away, was a nice angel who understood pop culture references and didn’t constantly have a stick up their asses…he just hadn’t met them yet.

Most people didn’t care that angels were practically void of all personality, and still fawned over them anyway. The many fan clubs proved it. Dean blamed it on the trashy novels. Half of the romance novels that were written nowadays starred a beautiful angel with soft wings, and men and women alike ate that shit up. Having drunkenly read one himself, he could see the attraction. The problem was, none of them were like that, at least the ones he’s met.

Angels came to earth to find a human mate, and while he wasn’t really interested in fucking an angel, _lots _of people were. The fetish porn alone… Dean shuddered. Never again. He just didn’t see the point in dating an angel when there were perfectly good humans still walking around. Sure, Angels could heal, teleport, and perform miracles… and while that was probably really convenient, Dean wasn’t sure it overrode their personality issues.

Anna had been — He cut off that train of thought immediately.

It seemed like every day it was announced that a politician or a CEO was getting mated to an angel. In Dean's eyes, it seemed like they were coming down to earth and attaching themselves to people of power. They ‘mated’ them — whatever the fuck that entailed — binding themselves to the humans and offering prestige, creating a feedback loop of power and money. These humans lived longer, excelled in their fields, and made more money than anyone could ever spend in one lifetime. Hell, more than their _children_ could spend in a lifetime.

Dean imagined that it didn’t have much to do with love, but Sammy wholeheartedly disagreed. Sam had always thought that mating an angel would be romantic. Thankfully, his little brother was safe from all of that. Sam was just an intern barely able to afford food, let alone have the kind of money that could attract an angel. It was the wings that Sam was attracted to, Dean was sure of it. He’s had his hands on a pair of wings before, and they weren’t _that _great. Sure, they were nice to look at and they were really soft. He’d never forget the way Anna had squirmed under him when he’d grabbed a handful of feathers and thrust into her. Sometimes when he was in bed at night he _still _used that image to masturbate.

Sam didn’t need an angel, and neither did he. Hell, if one came up to him and professed their undying love, he’d probably tell them to take a hike. That would never happen, but still. He was a business owner, sure, but not the kind of business that made millions of dollars. He’d be perfectly happy with some human to marry and his restoration business, no wings needed.

These days, angels were pretty common. Thirty years ago, when Dean was only a few years old, they had been such an anomaly that when one popped up in their town, it had been all anyone talked about for years. Now, he had one for a neighbor and two more lived down the street.

Leaving his usual doughnut shop, a box of doughnuts and steaming cup of joe in hand, Dean made his way to the shop. He had opened Winchester Classics eight years before with the life insurance money he had gotten from his dad. It was pretty much the only decent thing his dad did in his entire life — _dying_, that is. Dean didn’t miss the bastard, and when he heard that his dad had wrapped his truck around a tree trunk, his only thought was that he was glad he hadn’t taken anyone else out with him. Dean figured the best revenge he could have on his father was living a successful life, so he had taken the insurance check, convinced Sammy to sell the house with him, and used his share of the money to start his own business. It had been hard, but his work spoke for himself.

He nodded to his receptionist once he made it through the front door, offering her the box first and letting her take her pick. With a wink, he was on his way to the staff’s break room. As if his receptionist had put out an announcement, his employees swarmed into the room and converged on the box, picking it clean until only the old-fashioned doughnut and a few doughnut holes remained.

Charlie, of course, stayed behind to chat. “What’s up, boss?” She asked, her pink lips lined with a layer of powdered sugar.

Dean motioned wiping his mouth, but she just winked and took another bite, letting the layer build. He smiled fondly at her and took the lonely doughnut from the box, eating half in one bite. “Got a lot to do today, don’t I?”

She shrugged. “Not my job to keep track.”

He shook his head at his accountant and wagged the doughnut at her as if scolding a child. “I know, Charlie. That was a hint.”

She just huffed at him. “I know. I’ll look at those resumes today.”

He groaned, “My assistant quit a week ago, Charlie. I need someone ASAP.”

“Hey,” She grumbled and pointed the half-eaten donut at him in accusation. Dean watched as little bits of powdered sugar flew everywhere, “I’m doing you a favor, Dean.”

He stuck out his lip in a pout and brushed off the speck of powder that had landed on his jeans. “Come on, Charlie. You know you’re my favorite girl-”

“You say that to all the girls,” She cut in.

“-and you’re just so _good_ at this stuff. Remember that girl I was going to hire? _You _were the one that found out about that job she hadn’t put on her resume! If it wasn’t for you, I’d never know she got fired for stealing. I need you!”

“_I need you_,” She repeated mockingly. “I know, and that’s why I’ll do it when I do it.”

He popped the last bite of the doughnut into his mouth and pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you so much I could just squeeze you until your head pops off, you know that?”

She struggled for a bit in his grip and then gave up with a sigh. “Fine, I’ll do it now. You owe me, though. This wasn’t in the job description.”

He laughed. “Hey, you’re my best employee. I wouldn’t trust this with anyone but you.”

She just rolled her eyes and walked out of the breakroom, flipping him the bird as she left. “Love you!” He called after her.

Back in his office, he opened his calendar and got to work. Parts needed to be ordered, dates needed to be checked, and employees needed to be kept on their toes. Having an assistant would cut his work in half and allow him to do more hands-on work, so he needed someone hired yesterday. Due to his workload, he’d been forced to pass his projects onto his workers, and although they were more than competent, he missed doing the work himself. He just wasn’t built for desk work. By the time lunch rolled around, he was about ready to poke his eyes out just so he didn’t have to stare at a computer screen anymore. He honestly had no clue how Charlie did it all day.

He grabbed his keys and wallet, then let his receptionist know he was heading out for lunch before climbing into baby and taking off. A third of the way through a burger, Dean’s lunch was interrupted by a text.

_Sammy:_

_Can I drop by later?_

_Dean:_

_Tonight?_

_Sammy:_

_Sure. Around 7 ok?_

_Dean:_

_Yeah. I have chili in the crockpot with your name on it._

Dean watched the “…” appear and disappear as Sam typed and erased and then typed again. Finally, Dean’s phone chirped with a reply.

_Sammy:_

_Cant. I have a date tonight._

Eyes lighting up like a kid at Christmas, Dean immediately called his brother, but the little shit didn’t answer his phone and it went straight to voicemail.

Another text from Sam came through almost immediately.

_Sammy:_

_I can’t talk rn. I’m working._

_Dean:_

_How convenient… you better be bringing her by._

_Sammy:_

_That was the plan._

Dean finished his lunch on cloud nine. There was nothing he liked better than giving his brother a hard time in front of his girlfriends. He was honestly surprised Sam still brought them over at all.

Back in his office, Charlie stormed in with a handful of papers. “Here we go, boss.”

He glanced at the first one. “Can’t you just choose one for me?”

She rolled her eyes and tapped a knuckle on the top paper. “I knew you’d be an ass, so I put my pick on top.”

“Becky Rosen,” He read. “She’s hired.”

“Jeez, you’re horrible,” She folded her arms across her chest,“At least read it. She used to be Adler’s assistant.”

He raised his eyebrow, suddenly very curious. “How long did she work for him?”

She pointed to the paper again and turned to leave. “A while. Now read it. I’m going to try and get her to come in tomorrow.”

“_Read it_.” He mocked, once she was well out of earshot. Dean set the paper down and got back to work. He didn’t need to read it to know that she was good, and most likely had an unnatural level of patience — which she would need to work in a shop full of men. Adler was a bear to work with, but he dropped money on cars like it was going out of style. Becky would be great, he was sure.

Stretching his arms over his head, he let himself smile. He had cars in every corner of the shop, a new assistant lined up, dinner waiting for him at home, and Sammy would be over with his new girlfriend. Life was pretty good.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

At exactly 6:30 pm, right after Dean finished his second bowl of chili and third piece of freshly baked cornbread, his phone rang.

“Sammy!” He called happily, “Ya’ on your way?”

“Yeah,” He replied. “We just finished dinner. Should be there in twenty.”

“Awesome. Can you give her the phone?”

Sam’s groan said it all. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Oh, come on,” He pleaded, “I just wanted to make sure she knows about the snoring thing. You gotta give the girl a warning.”

“You’re such an ass. Yes, they know about the snoring, Dean, and they don’t care. You’re going to have to try harder than that.”

Dean restrained his laughter and went with another tactic. “What’s the girl's name? It must be a blow not to be the prettiest princess in the relationship, but I’m sure she’ll manage it.”

Sam sighed, “It's not a girl, Dean.”

This perked Dean up. “You finally branching out, Sammy? It's about damn time! Do you need sex advice? I’ve got years of experience I’m willing to share if you just ask nicely.”

“I don’t know why I bother with you.”

“I’m just happy for you! Sammy’s first boyfriend…” Dean stated wistfully. “Well, this just means you’re _guaranteed _to be the prettiest one.” He laughed at Sam’s quiet grumbling.

“You’re seriously the worst.”

“Well, now I’m really excited to meet this mystery guy. I gotta see if he’s good enough for the second-best Winchester.”

“His name is Gabriel, and we’ve been dating for a little more than three months, so if you're trying to scare him away, you’re going to have to try harder,” Sam sighed into the phone, “I’m so glad I didn’t put you on speaker.”

“I can still hear him,” Another person added, muffled, but still audible.

“That him?” Dean asked, wracking his brain for something else he could say to embarrass his brother with.

“Like I said: three months” He repeated. “Most of what you’re going to say he already knows.”

“Well then, I guess I only have one question.” He paused for dramatic effect. “What kind of car does he drive?”

Sam huffed out a laugh. “I don’t know. He’s driving, so you’ll see soon enough.”

“Well then, I’ll reserve my judgment. Don’t make out on my doorstep, capiche?”

“I’m not a teenager, Dean. I won’t make out with him on your doorstep. The spare bedroom is a solid maybe, though.”

Dean cringed,“Ew.”

“Whatever,” Sam laughed. “We’ll be over soon.”

“Wait!” He yelled before Sam could hang up. Sam didn’t get nervous often, and it warmed his heart that Sam was so concerned about what Dean thought. “Are you serious about this guy? Does he make you happy?”

Sam took a moment to answer, “Yeah. He does.”

Dean sighed in relief, “Well, good. I don’t care if it’s a girl, guy, or whatever those crazy kids are calling themselves these days, as long as you’re happy. You know that, right?”

“You sure about that?”

Dean frowned at Sam’s strained tone, “Of course, Sammy. You’re my brother. As long as you’re happy.”

“I am,” He reassured him. “I promise.”

“Good. Can’t wait to meet the guy, then.”

Sam sighed, long and deep. “Let's hope you don’t forget you said that…”

“I’m wounded,” Dean complained into the phone. Sam’s tone wasn’t inspiring much confidence, and he was a little offended at that. Dean didn’t care who Gabriel was as long as he made Sam happy. “I’m not _that_ bad.”

“Yes, you are. The first time you met Jess you told her about my bathroom habits.”

He smiled fondly at the memory. “You guys were going out for Chinese food. Someone had to warn her!”

“Well, this conversation has been _awesome_.”

Dean shrugged. “I’m your brother, Sammy… you’re stuck with me.”

Sam hung up without saying goodbye, and Dean chuckled in amusement. If he could make giving Sam a hard time into a full-time job, he would. It had always been so easy to get under Sam’s skin and it never got old. Fortunately for Sam, he had a burger addiction that needed funding and utilities that needed paying so he wouldn’t be quitting his day job anytime soon. Still, it hurt a little to hear that Sam was so nervous about bringing the new guy around. Dean had always been nothing but friendly to all of his past girlfriends, albeit a little flirty, and he knew it wasn’t the fact that it was a boy this time around. Dean was a solid three on the Kinsey scale, so he had brought men around just as often as women. Dean hoped Sam didn’t think he was some kind of a hypocrite.

He grabbed himself a beer from the fridge and hunkered down to an episode of House Hunters while he waited. Sam hadn’t been far, so it was only fifteen minutes later and halfway through his beer that he heard his iron gate creaking open. He placed his drink on the coffee table, paused the show, and schooled his expression. He’d go easy on the poor guy, but only because this was the first time he was bringing home a man. Next time, though, he’d be breaking out the photo albums and showing Gabriel all of the naked baby pictures he could find.

Sam let himself in a few moments later. His brother's large form blocked the doorway, but Dean could still see a second set of feet behind his brother. After a bit of a staring contest between the two, in which Dean cocked an eyebrow and Sam scowled in warning, his brother took a breath and stepped in, unveiling the man behind him.

His first impression was that the boyfriend was short. Compared to Sammy’s 6’4” frame, the guy looked like a child. Dean smirked at the man, ready to use the boyfriend's height as another tool to give his brother a hard time, but something caught his attention before he could open his mouth. There was something behind the man, an odd shape that filled the porch. Squinting at the darkness, he finally realized what he was seeing. The angel stepped into the room and turned to close the door behind himself, giving Dean an unobstructed view of his wings. In the shadow, he had assumed they were white, but in the light, he could see that they were a light cream color tipped with gold. He stared at the wings, dumbfounded and confused, wondering why his brother would bring an angel to his house. Suddenly, he remembered. The angel was Sam’s _boyfriend_.

He froze, unsure of what to do or say. Should he get up and shake the angel’s hand? Should he run into the kitchen for a few minutes to compose himself? What the hell was an angel doing dating his brother?

“What did you say?” Sam snapped at him.

Dean cursed inwardly, unaware that he’d spoken that last part out loud. “Uh, hey.”

Sam glared at him but continued in with the angel trailing behind him. He watched, speechless and frozen in shock as the angel took his place next to Sam and hooked his arm around his waist. It was the contact between the two that finally jarred Dean out of his stupor. “So… you’re dating an angel?”

Sam just shrugged.

“Why?”

The angel snorted and smiled at Dean. “Wow.”

Sam’s shoulders slumped, hopeful expression quickly giving way to disappointment. “Dean…”

“Wait! I’m just- this is just-” he bit his lip. “I’m not trying to be a dick, but…”

“Well, you are.”

“It’s just… he’s an angel!”

“I see who got the brains in the family…” Gabriel muttered just loud enough for Dean to hear.

Before Dean could say anything he’d regret, Sam cut in. “I’m aware that he’s an angel, Dean.”

“But… he’s an angel!” He repeated stupidly.

“That _angel _is my boyfriend and his name is Gabriel.” He hissed. “Stop being an ass.”

“Remember Anna?” He asked, finally coming to his senses. “What if he-”

“Gabriel isn’t Anna, Dean.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, buy Sam cleared his throat and shook his head. Surprisingly, the angel complied and took a half step behind Sam.

Acting as if the angel weren’t there, Dean brought his attention back to his brother. “Don’t you think it's weird that an angel wants to date you?”

Gabriel let out a slow whistle. “I’m going to wait in the car.”

Sam watched him go before turning his full attention back to Dean. “What are you trying to imply?” he asked, his voice dangerously low. “Are you saying that there’s no way someone would want me?”

“No!” he yelled, embarrassed that his statement had come across that way. His brother had a lot to offer someone. He was smart, funny, level-headed, and highly motivated. “I’m telling you that there’s no way an _angel_ would want you! You got nothing to offer one!”

“Nothing to offer? How could you say that?” Sam shouted back.

“But Anna-”

“Just because you dated _one_, doesn’t mean you know jack shit about the rest of them! Should I be basing my opinion of women on how my relationship with Ruby went? If I did that, I’d be celibate!”

“That’s different!”

“It’s not, and you know it.”

“Well, she told me-”

“I don’t give a shit about what she told you, and you shouldn’t either!” He growled, advancing on his brother. “The only reason you dated her in the first place was that she was an angel and you were curious, remember? You never loved her, so don’t start acting like the breakup _hurt_ you!”

Dean gaped at his brother in shock, his mind warring between wanting to beat the shit out of him, and slinking away in shame. “I didn’t only date her because-” the look Sam gave him made Dean stop immediately. “Sam…”

“I’m not going to stand here and listen to you tell me how bad angels are when I’m _dating_ one.”

“Angels aren’t _bad…_” he conceded. “It’s your life, but-”

“As I said, I don’t care what you think of angels,” He continued. “This is _my _life. I _like _Gabe, and he likes me back. Can’t you just be happy for me?”

Face red, he cleared his throat, “I just didn’t expect you to come in with an angel, Sammy.”

Sam crossed his arms across his chest. “Well, I did.”

Dean forced a smile. “Let's just start over, ok? Come on…”

He shook his head. “Honestly, Dean… I don’t really want to bring him back in after all of the shit you just said.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

Sam let out a long sigh. “Call me when you’re ready to be an adult and apologize.”

Dean watched as Sam walked out of the door, shutting it firmly behind him. He stood there alone, his mind still trying to catch up with what just happened. Sam had a boyfriend. Sam’s boyfriend was an angel.

Shit. He really fucked things up.

Dean walked to the door, hoping against all odds that Sam would still be in the driveway, but Gabriel’s car was long gone. He had probably sped away from Dean’s house like a bat out of hell. He didn’t blame him. He couldn’t. Dean had been an ass. He didn’t even bother saying hi before launching onto his brother. He was lucky the angel — Gabe, Sam had called him — hadn’t decided to smite him.

He picked up his phone and let his finger hover over the call button for a few moments before throwing his phone down in frustration. Why was it so hard for him to just call up his brother and apologize? He had no reason to be such an ass. Angels were model citizens, for Christ's sake. None had ever given him a reason to act like that.

God, he was such an ass. Sam knew that Dean only acted like that because of how his relationship ended with Anna, and he’d be damned if she had any more effect on his life. Dean picked up the phone and called his brother immediately. He had to fix things before the situation got worse.

“Hello!” A different voice chirped into the receiver.

Dean checked the display and confirmed that he had in fact, call his brother’s phone. “Who is this?”

“We just met and you already forgot me? Wow, Dean-o. I thought I made more of an impression than that.”

Dean's heartbeat ratcheted up. This was the last person he wanted to talk to. “Gabriel?”

“Got it in one.”

“Uh, listen…” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Is Sam there?”

“Yeah, he’s right here.”

Dean waited for a second, expecting the angel to say something else, or for the phone to be passed to Sam, but nothing happened. “Can you give him the phone?”

“Ah…Well, I’m in a bit of a pickle, here.” He began. “You see, you really hurt my boyfriend's feelings. I don’t like that. In fact, I don’t like _you_ very much right now. So no, I’m not going to give him the phone.”

“Wait a minute!” he complained, embarrassment swirling in his gut. “That ain't your phone, and I’m his damn brother. Give him the phone.”

“Testy…” he chided. “You weren’t acting much like a brother earlier, were you?”

Dean flushed, glad Gabe couldn’t see the way his words had affected him. “That’s between me and him, ok? What the hell would you know about having a brother?”

“See, here's the thing. I have someone I consider a little brother too, and I would never be such an ass to him. Granted, he’s a bit naïve, so it’d be like shooting fish in a barrel, but what are you going to do, right?”

“My relationship with my brother is between him and me, got it?” he snapped.

“Not anymore, it isn’t,” The angel chided. “It’s kinda my problem too, now. It’s my duty to keep him happy, and you, my angry friend, aren’t making him very happy right now.”

Dean took a deep breath. He couldn’t afford to make things worse, and if that meant sucking up to Gabe, then so be it. “Ok, I’m sorry. I called to apologize to him, ok? I’m not trying to pick up the fight where we left off.”

“How noble of you,” He commented dryly.

“Can I talk to him, please?” Dean asked through clenched teeth.

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think so.”

He breathed through his nose and counted to five before trying again. “I just want to talk to my brother and apologize, ok?”

The angel tsked again. “I don’t know, Dean-o, that tone isn’t inspiring much faith in you. Believe me, I know a lot about faith. Now, I’m going to fill you in on something. Listen closely, this is important. I don’t give a shit that you don’t like me. Really, I don’t. Sam told me all about you and your thinly veiled distaste for angels. All I care about is the happiness of your brother, and like I said: you aren’t making him happy. So, here's what I’m going to do: I’m going to take a message, and then hang up on you. Now, what do you want me to tell him?”

Dean took a second to think, and as if the angel had been expecting it, he waited patiently for Dean to start. “Ok. I’ll give you the message. Tell Sam that I said I was sorry, and that I want him to call me back when he can. Tell him that I know I was being a dick, and I just want him to be happy. If that means being with you, then I’m fine with that.”

Just like he said he would, the angel disconnected the call. That night, Dean couldn’t sleep and his thoughts ran around in circles. Did Gabe actually pass on his message? Was Sam going to forgive him?

He went to the shop the next morning in a daze, barely able to concentrate long enough to get his work done. He had no idea what questions he had asked Becky during the interview, and only had a vague recollection of a perky brunette. With Charlie's blessing, he hired her anyway and she was able to begin immediately. Thankfully, she didn’t need much instruction, and she jumped right into taking his calls, setting up his meetings, and grabbing his lunch. That left him with a lot of time to sit in his office and think about what a shitty brother he was.

Dean rested his forehead on the cool wood of his desk. He had been a complete ass. He knew it, the angel knew it, and Sam definitely knew it. Despite everything, Dean had hoped he’d get a call that day, but by the time his work was done Sam _still_ hadn’t called. The volume on his phone stayed on high all day and night, even going so far as placing it under his pillow as he slept so he wouldn’t miss a single ring. By morning, there were no missed calls. He deserved to be kept waiting, Dean acknowledged. He _had _been a bastard to his brother. He only hoped that Sammy would put him out of his misery and call him soon.

It was two weeks later that Sam finally sent him a text.

_Sammy:_

_We’re having dinner at Gabe’s. I’ll send you the address._

That was it. No ‘I forgive you’ or any reassurances, just a text that clearly said ‘show up or don’t.’ It was clear to Dean this was probably his only chance, and he was not going to fuck it up. He immediately canceled all of his plans and told Becky he’d be leaving the office early that day.

_Dean:_

_Sure. What time?_

_Sammy:_

_5:30_

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. It was 2:20 pm, so if he left work immediately, that would give him about two and a half hours to head home, change into something that didn’t smell like oil, and then make it to Gabriel’s house on time. 

A few hours later, after spending fifteen minutes picking out a shirt like he was going on a damn date, he grabbed his keys, shoved his wallet into his nicest jeans, and climbed into baby. By the time he finally pulled up to the address Sam had texted him, his heart was pounding and he was contemplating turning back around.

The house itself was simple and unassuming, painted a muted green with nice stonework, definitely not something he thought an angel would own. He closed his eyes and reminded himself to keep an open mind. Sam, who’d always had decent taste in women (not counting Ruby), was in a relationship with the angel… that should be enough for Dean. He glanced around, hoping that something about Gabriel’s yard would offer insight into him, but it looked like a normal house with a normal yard. The grass was neatly trimmed, and a flowerbed with a few bushes bordered the porch. Nothing strange or unusual.

As he began the walk up to the door, Gabriel’s carport came into view and a flash of pale yellow stopped him dead in his tracks. Dean's jaw dropped. The pristine ’72 International Scout shined in the golden light of the setting sun. He walked over slowly, reverently stroking the body of the car. With a quick peek into the driver's window, he saw that the interior was still original, no CD player insight. Dean nearly cried in relief. If all else failed and they fell into an awkward silence, at least he could bring up the car. Dean could talk about that piece of art for _hours_. He wanted to kiss it, he was so happy.

He went to the door in a daze and knocked.

It was Sam who opened the door, looking pinched and ready for battle. It broke his heart to see the determination on his little brother's face, but he was going to play nice even if it meant he had to tape his damn mouth shut. “Hey, Sammy.”

“Dean. Uh…” He shut the door behind them, trapping them both on the porch. “Hi.”

Dean waited.

Sam looked at him.

Dean coughed awkwardly, determined to let Sam say his piece.

Sam finally sighed. “So…”

“I’m sorry.” He blurted, unable to contain himself. “Before you say anything. I’m sorry. I was an ass, and it’s none of my business who you date.”

Sam blinked at him.

“And if you want me to be buddy-buddy with Gabriel, then I will.” He finished. “You’re my brother, and I love you.”

Sam blinked again. “Thanks. I guess Gabe was right. So, you really meant what you said?”

“Gabriel gave you the message?” He asked.

Sam nodded. “I wasn’t sure…”

“Yeah, of course, I meant it.”

Sam gave him a small smile. “Well, this is going a lot better than I thought it would. Let's just hope you can both behave yourself.”

“Yeah, well…” He shifted awkwardly. “I just want you to be happy, and if its an angel that does it for you, then, I’ll just deal with it. I’ll be nice.”

Despite Dean’s words, Sam seemed unconvinced. “I just want you and Gabe to get along. This thing between us is serious.”

“I’m going to try. He can’t be that bad if he owns a classic. That’s a nice fucking Scout.”

“Of course, it would be the car that convinces you he’s ‘not that bad,’ not the fact that I _like _him.” Despite his tone, Sam smiled.

“The plan was to be nice _before_ I saw the car.” He grumbled in his defense.

“Sure…”

He crossed his heart with a smirk. “I swear.”

Sam turned back to the door and ushered Dean into the house. “That’s good. I was hoping you wouldn’t be an ass, so I had Gabe make pie!”

“Pie?” he questioned. “Gabriel bakes?”

“Yeah! Learned as soon as he came down. Apparently, the first thing he ate on earth was a cookie, and he’s been addicted to sugar ever since. Thank god he doesn’t _need _to eat, otherwise, I’d be worried about his diet.” He let out a chuckle and led Dean into the living room. “That’s all he ever cooks for me. He’d have me eating pastries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let him.”

“He bakes for you?” Dean asked stupidly.

“Yeah. Brings home leftovers from the bakery, too.”

Dean’s eyebrow shot up. “You’re telling me he has a classic and bakes pies? I would put up with a lot of shit for daily pastries.”

“Even dating another angel?” Sam asked, his brows raised in question.

Dean shrugged, but the grimace on his face was all the answer Sam needed.

Sam rolled his eyes, but he was clearly pleased with the way things were going this time around. “Dinner should be ready soon. Why don’t you sit?”

The living room had a plush looking couch and a few tall bookcases, all full of books and knick-knacks. It was comfortable and nothing like what he thought an angel would buy. The kitchen, though, was what caught his eye. It was modern, spacious, and full of appliances that had him drooling with envy. He could clearly see where all of the money was spent. Compared to the rest of the house, the kitchen was a palace.

Gabe chose that moment to walk out of the hallway with his cream-colored wings arched proudly over his head. “Welcome to mi casa!”

Dean, automatically suspicious of the angel’s attitude, and more than a little intimidated by the show, nodded awkwardly. If Gabe was going to act as if nothing had happened, then he would follow his lead. “Hey.”

“Did you take that stick out of your ass?”

So much for acting as nothing happened. Dean sighed and forced a smile. “Nice to see you, too.”

As if that answered his question, he plowed on. “Well good, I made a roast and I’m not going to give my meat to just anyone.”

Ignoring Gabe’s innuendo, Dean wandered into the kitchen. He had always loved cooking, which was good since their dad was incapable of making anything more complicated than boxed mac-n-cheese. As the list of things in common between them grew, his embarrassment did as well. Gabe couldn’t be _that_ bad, right? He cooked, had a cool car, and was able to get Sam to eat sweets. “This is…”

Gabe smiled at him and relaxed his wings completely, letting them nestle comfortably into his back. “You like it? Got it remodeled when I bought the place. I had to tear down a wall to expand the kitchen, but I didn’t need that third bedroom anyway. This is my baby.”

Dean ran his hand over the industrial stove and eyed the pots and pans stacked on the shelves. “How did you get all of this stuff? This is on another level.”

“I gave CPR to a man who ran a restaurant supply company. I get a pretty steep discount.”

Dean frowned and turned to Gabe. “CPR? Can’t angels heal?”

Gabriel just shrugged. “What can I say? He was cute.”

Dean smiled. Maybe getting along with Gabe wouldn’t be that hard after all. “When an opportunity arises…”

“That’s what I said!” Gabe cackled in amusement. “See, Sam? I saved the guy’s life!”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but it would have been faster to just heal him. You broke a few ribs, remember?”

Gabe just shrugged. “Well, I healed them, didn’t I? Besides, the fact that I broke some ribs just proves that I was doing it right. Trust me, baby, he was very grateful. I’m pretty sure he _still _hasn’t washed his lips.”

Sam grumbled under his breath and went to set the table.

“So,” Dean began, eying Gabriel nervously. Showing Sammy that he could play nice was his only goal for the night, so he had to act like having dinner with an angel was normal for him. He could do small talk. In fact, he was _great_ at small talk. “How did you and Sammy meet?”

“He mowed me down in the street and trampled all over me. I had a Bigfoot sized shoeprint on my wing for a week.” He smirked and stretched out one of his wings for inspection.

“Hey!” Sam yelled. “Don’t make it sound like I did it on purpose. It was an accident.”

Gabriel retracted his wing and ignored Sam. “I like to think he was so taken aback by my good looks that he tackled me before I could disappear.”

“I was running late and I didn’t see you!” Sam pouted. “I think you stepped in front of me on purpose.”

Gabriel just looked at him innocently. “Now, why would I do that?”

“I’ve seen how fast you can move, you could have blinked out of the way in an instant!”

Gave rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Are you telling me that if you saw some sexy sasquatch running full speed towards you, that you wouldn’t let him mow you down too?”

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound?” Sam shot back.

Dean watched them bicker and couldn’t repress his smile. He’d always hoped Sammy would find someone who could give him shit just as good as Dean could, and it seemed like he got his wish. That wish just happened to come packaged in an angel.

“And then you stepped on my wing!” Gabe was saying, “It was clearly meant to be.”

Dean laughed, “Wow. Good job, Sammy.”

“Yeah. Knocked me to my ass and then stepped on it when he was trying to get up.”

Dean smirked and winked at his brother, “He always was a smooth one. It's those long legs… he’s like a baby giraffe.”

“You guys better not just spend the entire night making fun of me,” Sam placed the last knife on the table, his face red with embarrassment. “Can we just eat now?”

“Sure.” Gabe snapped his fingers and the food appeared on the table.

Jolting in surprise, Dean stared at the food’s sudden arrival. “Well, that’s awesome.”

Sam smirked from his seat next to Gabriel. “You’re taking all of this well.”

Dean turned to give his brother a pointed look. “Well, I had two weeks to think about things. Thanks for that.” He turned back to Gabriel. “I’m going to want to talk to you about that Scout after dinner, by the way.”

Sam shrugged. “I’m glad you used your time wisely, then. Dinner was actually Gabe’s idea, so you should thank him. I would have let you suffer for a month.”

Gabriel smirked at Dean’s shocked expression. “What can I say? Happy wife, happy life.”

They sat down, and Dean mulled over the fact that Gabe was the one who got his brother to see him again, a full two weeks before Sam intended. Gabriel, despite the few snide comments from the beginning of the night, really didn’t seem to hold a grudge. Sure, he was kind of an ass, but he seemed like the kind of guy who could take someone giving him shit back. Dean respected the hell out of that. He filled his plate with a large serving of everything and ate slowly while he watched them bicker. He hadn’t known what to expect from the night, but this surely wouldn’t be it. It looked like they had a normal relationship. His brother looked _happy_.

After two full plates of food, they made their way into the living room where Gabriel supplied them with bottles of beer.

“This is good beer,” Dean commented between sips. “Dinner was really good, too. Sammy can't cook worth a shit, so it’s good he has you.”

Gabriel winked at him. “Gotta keep the boyfriend well fed!”

“You keep me _more_ than well-fed,” Sam commented. “He practically forces me to eat his baking every day. I’ve had to start jogging again just to keep the weight off.”

“Wow,” Dean replied sarcastically. “That sounds horrible.”

Gabe leaned in closer to Dean. “I like a little junk in the trunk.”

Dean scowled at him. “Ew. That’s still my brother.”

Gabe shrugged and Sam eyed them suspiciously. “Don’t be weird, Gabriel. I want my brother to like you, remember?”

“Oh, he likes me. At least he will after he tastes my pie.”

His eyes lit up. “Can we have the pie now?”

“Dean!” Sam chided. “You just had two plates of food, give it a bit to digest.”

Dean rolled his eyes, “I can take it. There’s always room for pie.”

“I like him, Sam. Can we keep him?”

“Keep giving me pie, and you can.”

Gabe winked at him and went to the kitchen to grab the dessert. He came back with a large slice of pecan pie for Dean. “Eat up, Dean-o. There’s more where that came from.”

The flavor of the first bite exploded in his mouth and he moaned lewdly in appreciation. “Oh, god. If you get tired of Sam, I’m single and available.”

Sam threw up his hands. “Geeze, Dean. You hated him two weeks ago, and now you’re flirting?”

“I didn’t hate him,” He insisted. “I was just surprised. An angel was the last thing I thought would walk through my door.”

“Well, you need to work on using your words, then,” Sam took a bite of his own pie before continuing. “It's just strange that you went from disliking angels to wanting to date one.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to date one, Sammy. Angels are completely off the table for me. They’re too much trouble. If anything, I need to find myself a baker,” He replied, mouth full of pie. “This is some good fucking pie.”

Gabe laughed and sat down on his ottoman. Behind him, his wings fluffed with pleasure. “This is all a ploy to get more customers.”

“It’s working,” Dean mumbled around his next bite. “How’s the coffee at your bakery?”

“Strong,” He answered.

“I’ll be seeing you on Monday, then.” He turned from Gabe and pointed a finger at Sam. “You treat this man right, ok Sammy? I’ll kick your ass if you don’t.”

“When Sammich said that the way to your heart was pie, I didn’t expect this,” Gabriel mused.

Dean put his empty plate down onto the coffee table and mourned for the finished slice. As if sensing this, Gabriel snapped his fingers and another slice of pie appeared on his plate. He looked at Gabriel in wonder. “I think I love you.”

“Oh, god,” Sam mumbled, rubbing his face.

Dean gave Sam a look. “We’re having a moment, here.”

His brother groaned.

“Do you got any assistants at the bakery?” He asked Gabriel with a smirk. “All I need is a person with low standards and access to your recipes.”

Sam shook his head. “Well, I’m just glad I helped you realize that not all angels are assholes like Anna.”

Dean scoffed at that. “I knew they weren’t!”

Gabe laughed. “Eh, some of them are, but so are humans. The world is full of assholes.”

Dean washed his bite down with a sip of beer, and then raised the bottle in salute. “That, I completely agree with.”

“Too many of them mating other assholes. It’s like asshole-ception.”

“Seems like angels are trying to take over the damn world, from where I’m standing. Mating with politicians and living longer… thank god our leaders have limited terms.” He commented, letting only a little bitterness into his voice.

“That’s stupid,” Gabe replied. “Earth is where angels go to _die_.”

Gabe said it so casually that it took Dean a moment to understand what Gabe said. “What?”

Gabe laughed at his shocked expression. “Morbid, right?”

“Gabe…” Sam chided. “You can’t say it like that.”

“Well, it’s true!” Gabe shot back with a pout.

“Wait a minute.” Dean interrupted. “What is he talking about?”

Sam shoved Gabe’s shoulder, an annoyed expression on his face. “Taking a human mate allows an angel to age and die.”

Dean frowned. “Why would you want to do that? Immortality and angel mojo seem like a pretty good deal to me.”

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes, muttering something about romance being dead, but Gabe threw his arm around Dean’s neck and squeezed. “Now _that _is a good question. If I mated an angel, we could live happily ever after and never age a single damn day. There’s only one problem… the guys and gal’s upstairs? They’re a bunch of stiffs. Michael, especially. Talk about daddy issues. Always going on and on about the big G, and playing their harps. They don’t do much, ya’ know? Humans, on the other hand? Good food, better music, and a lot more fun. They got more personality in one finger than there is in the whole of heaven. Some humans are just worth it,” He leaned in and dropped his voice so only Dean could hear, “Plus, they’re way better in bed.”

Sam poked Gabriel in the ribs. “What did you just say?”

He threw his hands up in surrender. “Nothing!”

Dean cleared his throat and brought Gabriel’s attention back to him. “So, do angels just come down because they can’t find an angel they want to mate with?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, it's kind of like a last hurrah. It’s a bit of a culture shock coming down here, but I don’t begin aging until I mate, so I can afford to be choosy.”

“So, you find a human, and then what?” Dean pressed.

“Stop bothering him,” Sam cut in.

“Well, no one else ever talks about this stuff!”

“It’s fine, Sam. If more angels explained how things worked, then it’d be a lot easier for us down here,” Gabriel turned back to Dean. “Find a Samsquach, let the sparks fly, and if you decide they’re what you want, you mate! We share a bit of grace, form a bond and then BOOM — the human lives longer. When they die, we get to join them in heaven. It’s terribly romantic, isn’t it Sammich?”

Dean frowned. “What if they get sick, or have an accident and die early? The angel dies too?”

Gabe looked at him a little strangely. “Why would I want to stay? It’s less of death and more of a letting go if that makes you feel better. We don’t see death like that.”

“So, this whole thing is about love?”

“Of course!”

He didn’t want to straight out accuse Gabe of lying, but his experience with Anna had _not_ been about love. “Then why do most angels go after the rich ones?”

Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know. In heaven, it’s all about dedication. Gotta sing your hosannas daily, and pray to God, and do whatever the fuck they’re doing up there these days. Some carry those preferences for dedication and motivation to earth. Those traits tend to be in certain people, and those people tend to make money. Me, personally, I don’t give a shit about potential and determination. I like ‘em with a bit of spunk, and call it a kink, but I like them tall so I can climb them like a tree-”

“Woah, dude. Too much information!”

“But I’ve known angels who are attracted to independence, or sense of humor,” He continued. “Angels have a real easy time seeing right into a person. One of my angel buddies just wanted a man with a big dick, simple as that. He’s mated to a porn star now.”

“Wait,” Dean cut in. “What do you mean they can see into a person?”

Gabe shrugged. “Call it a sixth sense. Angels can just look at a person and know if they have what they're looking for.”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

“I think it’s convenient. This means I know right away if a human is compatible with me. As for Anna? I don’t know. Maybe you just weren’t right for her. Not everyone picks right their first try.”

Dean scoffed. “Anna was a real nasty bitch about it, then.”

Sam tsk’ed in sympathy. “That’s what I tried to tell you.”

Dean flipped his brother off, not in the mood for the whole ‘I told you so’ thing. “So angels don’t just pick the nearest rich person and mate them?”

He shook his head. “We don’t need much on earth. After we mate, we’ll start to eat and sleep, but nowhere near the level a human needs. Money is nice, but it’s not really necessary.”

“Anna, the angel I dated, she broke up with me because I wasn’t- I don’t know… good enough, or something.” Dean bit his lip. “That’s what she said, at least. I’m starting to think that wasn’t the reason.”

The angel shrugged. “Maybe you were bad in bed.”

“Hey,” Dean complained, slightly offended, but unable to hold back the surprised bark of laughter.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Gabe admitted. “I didn’t know her. I ran in the higher levels, so I know all of the other Archangels and Seraphim, but not many of the common angels.”

“Oh shit,” Dean muttered. “You’re an archangel?”

“Yep,” He replied, popping the p.

“That’s fucking cool.”

“I think so, too. The whole snapping my fingers thing was just for show, I don’t even have to blink to use my powers. My little bro does, but that’s because he’s a Seraphim. There’s not too much of a difference in the level of grace until you get to the lower-ranked angels. My brother can do the same things I can do, he just has to think a little harder about it. Well, I guess I can use more grace than him without getting tired, but the difference isn’t enough to matter unless we were both running into a burning children’s hospital.”

Dean frowned at his example, but at least it made sense. “And normal angels? Like Anna?”

“A run of the mill angel has a fraction of the grace I have, so what would take me one little teleportation jump, would take someone like Anna three or four. She’d be able to heal a broken bone, but not much more. A Nephalim, though? They’d only be able to jump as far as they could see and probably wouldn’t be able to heal more than a scraped knee.”

“Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about this stuff?” Dean asked, mystified at the information he was being given so freely. “Everyone is so tight-lipped about it. Anna _never _told me any of this.”

“Well, when you don’t have a personality it helps to have an air of mystery about you, don’t ya think?” He pursed his lips. “I mean, I can do some pretty cool stuff. For example…”

Dean blinked and Gabriel was gone with the sound of wings. He’d seen angels disappear before, but none from so close. It was a bit jarring.

Sam sighed. “He’ll be back. He does this all the time.”

The sound of wings signaled his return. “Tada!”

Dean eyed the plate of food that was being shoved at his chest. “Uh, what is it?”

“Shakshuka!” Gabe replied. “It’s morning in the middle east, so it was the best I could do.”

“Thanks?” Dean put it on the coffee table and looked at his brother. “Can I borrow some Tupperware?”

Sam laughed and grabbed the plate from the table. “Sure.”

“Did you steal that from someone’s table?” he asked, giving the angel a joking smile.

Gabe wiggled his eyebrows at him in return. “I would _never_. Anyways, a trick like that could make anyone _way_ more interesting, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. Anna seemed to love showing off. I think I was the first human she dated on earth, so she probably got off on it or something.”

“Probably.” Gabe agreed.

“So, how does the whole mating thing happen? Everyone is so secretive about it.”

His face softened and his wings puffed up like a balloon. “I knew right away Sam was the one.”

“The one?” Dean questioned with his heart in his throat. “You mean…”

Gabe winked at him. “Only if Sam wants it, of course. But back to your question… I knew the minute I laid eyes on him that he had everything I wanted. He’s kind, compassionate, and super smart. Kid’s gonna make a hell of a lawyer. One look, and I knew. So, I threw myself right in front of him and knocked him on that perky ass of his.”

Dean snorted. “So you _did_ do it on purpose.”

“Of course!” Gabe agreed. “An angel will always know. I don’t know what Anna was looking for in a mate, but you had to have had it.”

“Too bad she was a bitch.” He commented. The more he said it, the better he was feeling about the whole situation. There wasn’t anything wrong with him. Anna was the problem. “So it’s like adopting a cat? You just gotta wait for one to choose you? I guess I get why they always seem so picky.”

“Let me guess…after you and Anna broke up you waited for an angel to flirt with you just so you could turn them down?” he laughed at the pinched look on Dean’s face. “Could it have been the strong stench of hate in the air?”

Unwilling to admit Gabe was right, Dean just shrugged. “Either way, I don’t want anything to do with angels anymore. It's strictly humans for me, so even if an angel was interested, they’d have to find someone else. It's pretty safe to say I’ll _never_ want to be with another angel…”

“You were lucky enough to have _one_ angel interested in you, short-lived as it was, so I wouldn’t get too excited about another one anytime soon.” Gabe laughed at his expression. “I could be wrong, though. Trust me, if one likes you, they’ll come to you.”

Thinking back to Anna, he could clearly remember her coming up to him and introducing herself. Despite the hurtful shit she said to him, she must have seen something she liked. “Well, thanks for telling me all of that.”

Dean dropped the subject as soon as Sam returned, and he left not long after, the egg dish sitting safely on his passenger seat. He had a lot to mull over when he got home.


	2. Chapter 2

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

**3 months later…**

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Becky was briefing him about his schedule for the day when his phone started ringing. Recognizing the ringtone immediately, he held up his finger for Becky to shush and answered the call.

“Hey, Sammy,” He called happily into the phone and ignored Becky’s dreamy sigh.

“Morning,” Sam replied. “Is now a good time?”

Dean glanced at Becky. “Give me a second, okay? I’ll find you when I’m done.”

She covered her pout pretty well. “Of course, Mr. Winchester.”

He waited until she was out of the room before he addressed his brother, “Sorry, had to get rid of Becky.”

Sam groaned. “You haven’t fired her yet?”

Dean laughed, “No. Becky’s good at her job, she just has a bad taste in men.”

“Hey!” He yelled back indignantly. “I’m awesome.”

“Sure you are, bitch.”

Sam huffed. “Jerk.”

“So, what's up? Do you want to meet for lunch? I called Gabe earlier and his bakery’s serving paninis today. I know you like that fancy shit.”

“Not today. I have way too much work to get away.”

“Just have Gabe zap you out for a few minutes.”

“Tried that,” He grouched, “the other interns complained.”

“They’re just jealous.”

“I know, but my boss had to call me in and it was just…” he sighed in annoyance. “Anyways, I wanted to know if I can drop by later?”

“Sure. Want me to make dinner? Is Gabe coming?”

“No, I actually, uh…” Dean could hear Sam taking a big breath through the phone. “I needed to ask you for a favor.”

Dean groaned. A stressed sounding Sammy was never a good sign. Whatever that ‘favor’ was had to be big if Sam was freaking out that much. “Just break it to me. Do you need to borrow a car again? I swear if Gabriel —”

“No, it's not that.”

He inwardly sighed in relief. “Well, Gabe’s not pregnant, right? I don’t know if angels lay eggs or not, but pushing one out of your ass has to suck.”

“God, Dean,” He groaned in disgust. “Angels don’t lay eggs!”

Dean grinned, “You’d know what Gabe’s ass does better than me.”

“Just be serious for one minute, okay?” He sighed into the receiver. “I just need you to…”

Dean rolled his eyes. “What?”

“Let me come over, alright? I’ll bring one of Gabe’s apple pies.”

Dean furrowed his brows. Bribing Dean with pie? It must be worse than he thought. “Uh-oh.”

“It's not that bad, I promise,” Sam reassured. “…Hopefully.”

“Goddamnit, Sammy. You’re really selling it,” He rubbed the back of his neck. “On a scale of 1-10, now bad is this?”

“Define bad,” Sam hedged.

“Sammy...”

“I don’t think it’s bad,” Sam finally replied, “It’s just inconvenient.”

“So, you and Gabe are alright? Nothing’s happened?”

“No, we're fine. I promise.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay. I get off at four, but don’t even think of coming over until after five.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

“Yeah, well… you better bring that pie.”

Once he was off the phone, he leaned back in his chair. Suspicion was drowning out all other emotions. Whatever Sam was going to ask of him, it couldn’t be good. If it was something simple like helping him out with an engine problem or another small favor, he would have asked over the phone. Add the pie? Something was definitely going on.

Dean shook his head and started shuffling the paperwork on his desk into a neat pile. He couldn’t dwell on it. There was work to be done, and with the addition of a competent personal assistant, he was able to take on a few projects. The cherry red ’69 Chevelle he was currently working on had been brought in a few weeks ago, and it needed tons of work to get her in driving condition. Not only that, he needed to install custom seats that would accommodate wings.

By the time the day was over, Dean had calmed down and was genuinely curious about what Sam was going to ask him. If it was big enough, he’d probably be able to get another pie out of it… or two more pies. Hell, maybe even a whole week of pies.

By the time Sam finally let himself in at 5:50, Dean was just finishing up his chicken pot pie. “Hey, Sammy, just in time. Want me to pop another one of these bad boys in the oven?”

He set his briefcase on the couch and loosened his tie. “I’m fine. I ended up stopping for a sub on my break.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t you just tell me that bread is bad for you?”

Sam just rolled his eyes. “I was trying to talk to you about moderation. You were the one who blew through half a bag of bread in one sitting.”

“Hey!” He grumped. “I was making french toast! Eggs are good for you!”

Sam just took another bite. “Yeah, they are, but not when you cover the whole thing in butter and maple syrup. Don’t even get me started on that pot pie...”

“Don’t you dare. I work hard, Sammy. I deserve this.”

Ignoring Dean, he plopped onto the couch. “I’m going to relax here for a bit if you don’t mind. Work was stressful.”

Dean shoved the last bite into his mouth and pushed away from the table so he could join his brother on the couch. “Home not relaxing enough?”

Sam shook his head, “Gabe’s going to jump me the minute I walk through the door.”

Dean sneered, disgusted, “Don’t talk about that stuff in my house, alright?”

Sam quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve said worse in public.”

He shrugged because Sam was, of course, correct. “House rules, buddy. Now, didn’t you have something you wanted to talk about?”

Sam groaned and pushed himself into a seated position. “Yeah. I guess I’ll just get it over with.”

“Okay,” Dean said. “Lay it on me. I’m ready for anything.”

“So… Gabriel and I need a favor.”

“Okay?” he said slowly, hoping Sam would just say what he wanted.

Sam bit his lip before staring imploringly at Dean. “We need you to help us out with Gabe’s brother.”

Dean frowned, not expecting anything like that. He tried to wrack his brain for any reason an angel might need his help, and he was coming up blank. Usually, when an angel needed him it was to restore a car for their mate, and on the rare occasion, an angel of good taste would want a car for themselves. Those jobs always brought in a lot of money because not only would they need the car restored, but they’d need to customize the car to fit their wings. “Okay? Does he want a car or something?”

Sam shook his head. “Gabe’s little brother, Castiel, is fresh out of Heaven. He’s been here less than a week.”

“And you want me to show him around?”

Sam looked away. “Not exactly.”

“What is it, then?”

“Do you want pie? I have it in my car…” He stood up and backed away. “Let me grab it for you.”

“Wait!” He reached out and grabbed Sam’s arm before he could get too far away. “You’re worrying me, Sammy.”

Sam let out a sigh and plopped back down onto the couch. “Sorry.”

“Just ask me.”

“Can Castiel stay with you?”

That was the last thing he expected. “Huh?”

“He was staying with us, but he left and refuses to come back,” Sam explained. “Gabe was being… purposely loud.”

“Loud?” Dean questioned, now even more confused.

Sam just nodded slowly. “In bed.”

Dean’s head jerked back and his lip curled in disgust. “What did I say, Sammy? House rules.”

Sam ignored Dean. “He decided he didn’t want to be around that, which I completely understand. Trust me. I still remember living with you.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah. Still sorry about all that.”

“Water under the bridge, I guess. Castiel took off a few days ago, and Gabe gave him full access to his bank account, but we’ve been keeping an eye on things and he hasn’t spent anything.”

“Well, angels don’t have to eat or sleep, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the problem. Castiel needs to have a home base. It’s important for an angel to settle due to their nesting instincts. He needs to find himself.”

Dean scoffed. “Find himself?”

A glare silenced him. “Yes, Dean. Find himself. An angel has to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their life on earth.”

“I don’t know, man. Am I going to have to buy him twigs or something? He’s not going to build an actual nest, is he?”

“No,” Sam assured him. “Angels don’t actually nest...they’ll just be really picky about their spaces.”

“I don’t know, Sammy…”

“I have pie?” Sam supplied nervously. “We can pay you in pie. _Lots_ of pie.”

Dean groaned. “I love pie, but this is kinda big.”

“I know,” Sam admitted. “But it's going to be raining off and on for the next couple of months. Castiel came to visit yesterday soaking wet. I think he just walks around all day.”

Images of abandoned and wet puppies being left outside in the rain ran through his head, and he felt a twinge of sympathy for the mystery angel. “What’s he like?”

Hope bloomed in Sam’s expression. “He’s pretty much the opposite of Gabe. Quiet and serious. He doesn’t understand pop culture, but Gabe got a few movies in him before he left.”

“Great,” He grumbled. “A typical angel, then…”

Sam sighed, “Yes, but he’s really nice.”

“What movies did Gabe get him to watch?” Dean asked, hoping for LOTR or Star Wars.

Sam cringed. “Gabe made him watch every single Sandra Bullock movie he could get his hands on.”

Dean frowned in confusion. “What the hell?”

“Gabe likes romcoms,” He explained. “I think they watched The Proposal four times.”

“Poor guy…” He mumbled. Dean sighed and leaned back in his seat, unable to believe that he was actually considering letting a random angel come live with him. Gabe and he had become friends, despite Gabe’s constant need to embarrass and harass him at every moment, and if his friend needed help… then he would try to help the guy. “So, I just gotta give him a room? Maybe let him watch some good movies?”

“Yeah,” Sam sighed in relief. “He won’t get in your way, I think. We just don’t want him to be lonely.”

“Just until he finds a job and gets on his feet?”

His eyes lit up. “So, you’ll do it?”

Dean groaned loudly so Sam could understand just how much of a favor he was doing him. “Fine. I want two pies a week and some of those bakery leftovers, too.”

“Deal!” He said quickly, causing Dean to think that Sammy would have been willing to offer him even more. “Thank you, Dean. Seriously. Castiel is a sweet guy and Gabe’s being difficult. If you could just give him some company and help him find what he wants to do on earth, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure,” He waved away the thanks, already thinking of all the things he wanted to show Castiel. “What about food? What has he been eating?”

Sam looked away sheepishly. “Well… Gabe decided to experiment on him a bit, and now he refuses to eat anything Gabe makes.”

Suddenly, Dean felt a lot better about accepting Castiel into his house. “What did Gabe do to him?”

“Gabe is an amazing baker,” Sam defended, “But he likes to get creative when it comes to cooking.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember what you used to feed us when dad was at work?”

Dean had flashbacks of marshmallow macaroni and shuddered. “Oh, god.”

“Yeah. I would have stopped it if I were around, but I wasn’t able to take the week off like Gabe was. When angels first come down, their taste buds are new and they’re very sensitive.”

Dean cringed. “That’s pretty fucked up. I understand why he left.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Well, where’s my pie?”

Sam laughed and then got up to get him the apple pie, a skip in his step the entire way out the door.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

As soon as Dean got off work, he ran to the grocery store. The angel had bad culinary luck so far, so Dean was going to start things off strong and make his famous hamburgers. After putting the groceries away and prepping the beef patties, he straightened up the bottom floor and then headed upstairs to check on the spare bedroom. He hadn’t opened the door in weeks, and it had been months since Sam used it, so he knew the room would need to air out. Thankfully, Sam had left it tidy so all he had to do was clean off the dust that had accumulated and change the sheets. If the dude was as fresh outta heaven as Sam said, then Dean wanted him to be as comfortable as possible and that meant a clean room and a soft bed.

Glancing at the clock that hung above the dresser, he saw that it was nearing six. According to Sam, the angel would be showing up any minute, so he abandoned the room and made his way to the kitchen so he could check on dinner. Cooking was a point of pride for him, so everything had to be perfect. If the angel hadn’t eaten anything other than Gabriel’s experiments, then he was determined to show Castiel exactly what food could be like. On the menu were burgers and homemade fries. He had even taken his deep fryer out of storage for the first time in months and already par-cooked the sliced potatoes. The toppings were already cut, the bacon was crisped, and the patties were formed, so all he had to do was put the fries into the oil and cook the meat.

As soon as the clock ticked over to six, the doorbell rang.

Glancing at the door, he wiped his hands and made his way into the front room. With one deep, calming breath, he slapped on his friendliest smile and opened the door. “Hey, I’m —”

His brain stuttered to a halt. If Dean’s tongue wasn’t frozen in his mouth, he would have said something embarrassing, like ‘holy shit’ or ‘I know you’re a literal angel, but fuck… you’re an angel,’ because standing on his porch, was one of the most attractive men that Dean had ever seen. With his blue eyes, hooded and downturned — ‘bedroom eyes’ his useless brain supplied — staring up at him, and that cute little crease between his eyebrows, he was captivating. Dean’s eyes flicked along the man’s face as the seconds grew. High, sharp cheekbones? Check. Full, kissable lips? Check. Defined jaw? Check. Two or three days’ worth of stubble that would feel absolutely perfect on his skin? Double-fucking-check. He was absolutely and utterly gorgeous, and Dean was in a lot of trouble. There wasn’t enough pie in the entire world that would make up for Dean having to stare at that perfect face every day.

The man in front of him tilted his head to the side, his wings fluttering nervously behind him. He couldn’t tell what color they were just yet, but that was probably due to the pure white suit he was wearing. He’s never seen an angel so fresh out of heaven in person, so he had no clue it would almost hurt his eyes to even look at him. The suit was pristinely clean and was so white it seemed to glow.

Dean blinked a few times to soothe his eyes and gave him a quick once over. White jacket over a white button-down, white tie, white slacks, white belt, and not surprisingly, a pair of white shoes. Standard issue heavenly garb. Apparently Sam and Gabe never bothered taking the angel shopping. No wonder those wings couldn’t outshine the white eyesore in front of him.

The angel’s head was still cocked to the side when he spoke. “Dean.”

Oh god, his voice. “Huh?”

“Your name is Dean,” He elaborated.

Oh! He had been in the middle of introducing himself. “Uh, yeah. I’m Dean.”

“It's customary to shake hands, is it not?”

Dean nodded dumbly and reached out his hand. “Yeah, sure.”

Cas’s grip was firm and warm. “I want to thank you for taking me into your home.”

Finally, his brain started to work. He stepped aside and gestured for Castiel to enter. “Come on in!”

Dean watched as Cas turned to the side so he could fit his alarmingly large wings through the door. A few of the dark feathers brushed his arm as Cas maneuvered inside, and the scent of earth and pine washed over him. He clenched his hand so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch the soft-looking feathers.

As he stood under the fluorescent light of Dean’s living room, he was finally able to get a good look at the appendages sprouting from the angel’s back. They were black, he noticed, and in some places, his feathers were so smooth and shiny they were oil slick under the light.

Cas stopped a few feet in and looked around. “You have a lovely home.”

Pull yourself together, Dean thought to himself. He couldn’t start crushing on Gabe’s brother. His brother's boyfriend's brother was off-limits. Right? Dean smiled at the compliment and moved so he could stand beside Castiel, who shuffled his wings in so they wouldn’t get in the way. If he stood closer to the man than he would normally, then that was between him and his conscious. “Thanks, man.”

As Castiel looked around, Dean took the opportunity to give Castiel a good look. He was tall, only a bit shorter than Dean himself, and stocky. Surely that was the reason his heart was beating so quickly when he laid eyes on him, not the fact that he ticked off every box Dean had. He paused at his ass on his downward journey for a moment and was just beginning to appreciate the thick thighs when he noticed the angel turning around.

Dean cleared his throat and forced another smile. If he kept it up, he’d start wrinkling prematurely. “I’m making burgers for dinner.”

“That’s not necessary.” He replied. Dean was about to open his mouth to argue that eating burgers were _very_ necessary, but Cas’s next movement silenced him. On his back, and blocked by those giant wings — oh shit, they were huge — was a crossbody bag. He shimmied it over his head and presented it to Dean. “I will provide my own sustenance.”

Dean eyed the bag suspiciously. He knew the angel wouldn’t need to eat, but his caretaker instincts were taking over and just the sight of that small bag was giving him anxiety. “Can I see it?”

Cas frowned, but passed him the bag. “I’ve started collecting the foods I enjoy.”

Hiding his worried look, he opened the flap and peered inside. A jar of peanut butter, two chicken-flavored ramens, a jar of freeze-dried coffee (which he was certainly going to pretend didn’t exist), and a few Smuckers Uncrustables. “Uh…”

“As you can see, I will be fine.”

Dean clutched the satchel to his chest and turned his pleading eyes to Castiel. “This stuff isn’t good.”

With the kind of strength only an angel could possess, he pried the bag from Dean’s clenched fingers. “I believe taste is a subjective matter.”

“Castiel,” Dean chided halfheartedly. “Let me make you a burger...”

He just sighed. “Sam said you would want to feed me.”

“Is that a yes?”

“He said you would insist, and that I should just ‘go with it.’ Sam called it maternal instinct.”

“I do insist,” Dean confirmed. “I gotta show you what real food tastes like.”

Cas squinted and peered inside his bag. “I don’t understand. This is clearly ‘real’ food.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “I meant good food. Nutritional food.”

“I like this food. The molecules are pleasing and the textures are sufficiently varied. At this point in my life on earth, I have no need for nutrition. I’m choosing to focus on expanding my palate.”

“Please.” God, he couldn’t believe he was begging. “You’ll love burgers. Everyone loves my burgers.”

Cas peered at him, his blue eyes seeming to see into his soul — ridiculous, of course, but still kind of intimidating. “Alright, Dean Winchester. I will allow you to feed me.”

Dean sagged in relief. “Thank god.”

Castiel followed Dean into the kitchen and watched silently as he worked. It was, admittedly, kind of creepy to have someone watching every move he made, but he understood Castiel’s curiosity. Dean imagined that if he were in Castiel’s situation, he’d be staring too. Although while Cas was staring because he’s probably never watched someone prepare a meal before, Dean would be staring for a completely different reason. He’s seen wings before, of course, but none were as dark as Cas’s. Gabe’s gold-tipped ones were nothing to his, and even Anna’s, which he had liked at the time, seemed small and plain compared to Cas’s oil slick wings.

Under his unyielding gaze, Dean set the potatoes to fry and put the beef patties on the hot cast-iron skillet. While he pulled the toppings out of the fridge, he started talking. “You’re gonna love burgers. Sam is a health nut, and even he has two, sometimes three of these babies. I’ll help you make one, of course, since I don’t want you to put something weird on it and end up never wanting to have a burger again.”

“I will defer to you on the manner of toppings.”

He smirked at Castiel and plopped the American cheese on top of the flipped burgers. “That’s what I like to hear.”

After the food was ready, Dean led Cas through putting together the perfect burger. “Take a toasted bun and grab 2 patties. Yeah, stack them like that.” He encouraged the angel, watching as he began what would surely be a perfect burger. “Then you put the bacon so it sticks to the cheese, and then lettuce and tomato. I won't judge you if you put condiments on it, but my meat is so juicy that it doesn’t need anything.”

They took their identical burgers to the dining table and Castiel stared at the chair for a moment before setting his plate down and turning the chair backward. Dean watched it all, already planning a trip to Home Depot to pick up some stools. Cas and those damn wings were going to need some accommodating. “This looks far too large to fit comfortably in your mouth.”

“That’s what she said…” he muttered to himself. Realizing what he just said, Dean quickly stuffed the burger into his mouth. Aware of Cas’s eyes on him, he smiled with bulging cheeks. “Fee? Is no’ so ba.”

Cas just hummed and took a bite. Dean watched expectantly as the angel chewed, but he didn’t react beyond taking a second bite. He could only control himself so long, and by the time Castiel was through with half the burger, he couldn’t take it anymore. “Well?”

“This is not cheese,” Was his reply.

Dean huffed. “No, it’s not. It’s more a sauce than anything, but we still call it cheese.”

“I see.”

Dean waited only a moment longer. “How’s the burger? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“I enjoy this very much,” He finally answered after what seemed to be some deliberation. “I believe your secret ingredient is the addition of a small amount of spicy Italian sausage to the ground beef. I can also taste garlic salt and a pinch of cayenne for seasoning.”

Dean stared at him, wide-eyed and impressed. “How did you know? Even Sammy doesn’t know my recipe.”

“I remember every single thing I’ve tasted so far, so it’s simple to pick out the individual flavors.”

“Well, shit,” he muttered. “Don’t tell Sammy, ok?”

“I will not,” He assured Dean.

“So… you like them?”

“It makes me happy, Dean. Thank you. I would be open to having a second.”

“I would be insulted if you didn’t.” Dean sat back and watched the angel move around the kitchen and make himself a second burger. He looked good in the kitchen, despite the way his wings were pinned to his back to avoid knocking anything over. It brought a smile to his face.

“Just wait until I make you my mom’s apple pie. Don’t tell Gabe I said this, but it blows his out of the water.”

“I’ve yet to try his pie, so I won’t be able to draw a comparison.”

Dean was shocked. “You lived an entire week with him and didn’t try his apple pie? That’s his specialty!”

Castiel let out a long sigh. “The first night there, he cooked a chili for me in which he tripled the amount of spice he would normally put in it. At first, I assumed it was normal for humans and something I’d have to get used to on earth, but Sam got to it before Gabriel could warn him, and it made him ill. I believe he meant it to be some kind of initiation to human food… a hazing, of sorts… but I didn’t find it amusing in the slightest. The second day, Gabriel made some kind of stew that included copious amounts of maple syrup. I refused to try any more of his creations, no matter how innocuous they appeared.”

“Damn,” He muttered, “that sucks.”

“It did indeed ‘suck.’” Cas went back to his burger and took a few more bites while Dean watched him. “I sense that you are a man who wouldn’t interfere with another’s food.”

“No way!” Dean practically yelled. “I grew up not knowing where my next meal would come from. I would never do that to someone.”

Cas looked at him again, his blue eyes unwavering.

He cleared his throat and changed the subject before Cas could comment on his shitty childhood. “So, is there anything you need from me? I know there’s a shop at the mall that sells angel stuff. I’ve never been there, but I’m sure it’s nice. It's busy, at least, whenever I pass it.”

“What’s sold at an angel shop?”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t know, a big ass comb?”

Cas squinted at him, the joke flying right over his head. “Whatever would that be used for?”

He cleared his throat awkwardly, already regretting not just letting the angel go up for bed. “Your wings, I guess?”

“You don’t use a comb on feathers, although there are a few tools that might be useful if an angel’s wings have become matted.”

Dean leaned forward, interested in the little tidbits Cas was slipping him. “Really?”

“Yes, although it is not common for an angel to allow their wings to get into such a state.” Cas let out a full-body shudder at the thought, his wings rippling softly behind him at the motion. “In most cases, fingers and oil from the uropygial gland do the job.”

“Is that something you’re going to need help with?” Dean asked, curious as well as eager for the opportunity to touch them.

Cas’s eyes widened, and his previously relaxed wings retracted until they were pressed tightly against his back. “Gabriel has already offered.”

Dean pasted on a smile in order to diffuse the strange tension that had suddenly appeared. “Oh, come on. You don’t want me touching your wings?”

Cas’s eyes got impossibly wider and a flush worked its way down Cas’s neck. Dean had no idea what to think about that. “No, thank you.”

“So, you groom Gabe and he grooms you?” Dean asked, smiling past his disappointment. “Sounds nice.”

“I will not be grooming Gabriel,” Cas corrected. “That is Samuel’s job now.”

“Is this an angel thing?”

“Yes,” He confirmed, “Very much so.”

“Is it Sammy’s job because they’re dating?”

“Wings are a very intimate part of an angel. Grooming is something that only family or mates do.”

“Oh,” He shifted awkwardly, “I get it. Sorry for offering.”

“You didn’t know.” His tone was reassuring, but his face was strangely pinched.

Still feeling like he did something wrong, Dean pushed to his feet and offered the angel a smile. “I was thinking you could just settle in for the rest of the night. I set up a room for you so you could have somewhere to get away from me.”

He looked confused. “I don’t want to get away from you.”

Dean flushed red. Willing his heart to calm down, he tried to play it off. “Ok, so lesson number one for being on earth… you can’t say shit like that. It’s embarrassing.”

Castiel’s confusion only deepened. “So, you’d prefer if I lied?”

“Well, no…”

“Hmmm.” Castiel squinted. “Humans are confusing.”

“Let me show you your room,” Dean muttered. Cas followed him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. “I use the loft as a reading room, so you’re welcome to it anytime you want. I don’t use it much, but chicks dig it, so…” He clamped his mouth shut. God, he really had to get a hold of himself. Pushing forward, he continued into the hallway, stopping before the first door. “This one is my office. It’s kinda a mess, so don’t go in there.” Further down the hallway, they came to the last two doors. “Bathroom if you need it, and there’s-”

“I won't,” The angel interrupted.

“What?”

“I won’t need the bathroom.”

“Still, here it is. I have my own ensuite downstairs, so this one is yours. You can- I don’t know, use it to fix your hair or something.” He continued, “Come on, let’s get you in your room.”

Cas opened the door and stepped into the room. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” He replied, an undercurrent of embarrassment and attraction buzzing under his skin. “I put my old desktop computer in here for you. I already logged into Netflix, and I have amazon prime so you can watch the shows there too if you want. Do you know how to work a computer?”

Castiel nodded. “Yes. Gabriel showed me that much, at least.”

Dean sighed in relief. “Good. I’m going to my office so I can get some work done. You can relax, or watch something. I’ll just be down the hall if you need anything.”

“I’ll stay in the room.”

“Alright, then. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be…” He gestured to the office. “Seriously. If you need anything, just ask.”

As soon as Castiel clicked the door shut, he turned and made through his office door, intent on answering emails so that he could forget about the shit show that had just happened. God, he couldn’t believe he asked to groom an angel he’d just met. So fucking stupid. Of course, that would be a personal thing. Cas wasn’t going to let just anybody touch his wings, let alone Dean with his calloused hands and grease-stained nails. He was such a fucking idiot.

He flopped into his office chair and groaned loudly before flipping the laptop open and pulling up his email. As hard as he tried to concentrate on the task, his thoughts kept drifting to Cas. Cas was just…. something else. He was hot, that was for sure, but there was something about him that Dean just couldn’t put his finger on. He huffed to himself and shook his head, knowing it would do no good to let his thoughts continue down that path.

Cas wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him, and if he was, he would’ve shown more interest. Anna had gone straight for him the minute they locked eyes. Dean had turned into a mess the minute he saw Cas and if that wasn’t proof enough that he was interested in the angel, Dean didn’t know what was. But instead of approaching him like Anna had done, Castiel did nothing but stare. And not in the sexy kind of way. He vowed that the next time he saw Sam, he’d give him shit for not warning him that Cas was so hot.

Dean lay in bed for a long time that night, his mind full of Cas. Was he keeping himself entertained? Did he tell Cas where he could find the water filter? Shit, should Dean go and check in on him one last time? He rolled over and pressed his face into his pillow. The poor guy was probably feeling uncomfortable in a stranger's house, so the last thing he needed was Dean barging in and bothering him. 

The next morning when he wandered into the kitchen. Only slightly disappointed that Castiel wasn’t downstairs, he turned on the news and got to work. Thirty minutes later, he was taking perfectly crisp bacon out of the oven, and creating an assembly line for the omelets. Knife still in hand, he turned towards the fridge to pull out the block of cheddar, and nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Holy shit, Cas!” He yelled. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Only a minute.” He replied easily as if Dean hadn’t accidentally yelled at him.

“Don’t do that.” He showed Cas the chef’s knife still in hand. “I coulda stabbed you!”

“It would have done nothing,” He replied with a maddening level of nonchalance.

“Still.” He slapped the knife onto the cutting board, his back to Cas so the angel couldn’t see how spooked he actually was. “Scared the shit out of me.”

He pointedly glanced at the seat of Dean's pants. “Was that sarcasm?”

Blushing like crazy, Dean turned towards the bowl of whisked eggs and poured half into a heated pan. “Yes, Cas. It was. I didn’t literally shit myself.”

“Good. It's hard to differentiate between normal speech and sarcasm sometimes.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Dean grumbled, trying to ignore Cas’s presence as the angel went through his cupboards, but he couldn’t stop his eyes from drifting to Cas.

In an obvious attempt to dress down, Cas ditched the suit coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves, displaying strong forearms and a tapered waist that had been hidden the night before. Cas stood on his toes to reach for a mug, spreading his wings to counterbalance, and Dean stared as the angel inadvertently displayed the strong lines of his body. It was only a second later, as Cas finally chose a mug, that Dean realized exactly what he was doing. Dean was ogling an angel of the lord, for god’s sake, he needed to snap out of it.

Dean watched the angel for one more second before vowing to return to the stove but was stopped dead in his tracks as Cas started rummaging through his satchel. Speechless at what he was seeing, he put the spatula down, reduced the heat on the pan so nothing would burn, and folded his arms across his chest. “What is that?”

Cas walked over to the refrigerator and filled the ceramic mug with filtered water. “Coffee.”

“That’s not coffee.”

Cas stared at the jar for a moment before looking back at Dean. “The list on the container has coffee as the single ingredient.”

“No,” he stated, his voice firm. God, he had forgotten the jar of freeze-dried coffee even existed. “That’s not coffee.”

He turned his back on Dean and fiddled with the microwave. Despite his wings shielding him from Dean’s gaze, he knew Cas was warming the water in the microwave like a complete nut job. “I like it.”

“Yeah, well I like cheese wiz, but that doesn’t make it good!”

Cas pulled the steaming mug out of the microwave and used a spoon to add a scoop of the coffee to the water. “What’s cheese wiz?”

“Its cheese in a bottle.”

Cas frowned. “Interesting. I think I’ll be researching foods today.”

“Have fun with that,” Dean snorted.

“Thank you. I think I will. I have a lot to learn about food and proper nutrition.”

“Then you can start with the right way to drink coffee.” He pointed to Cas’s mug. “You can’t drink that.”

Cas took a sip of the steaming coffee, seemingly unaffected by the scalding water. “Why not?” 

“It’s freeze-dried,” Dean repeated with a shake of his head. It was surprisingly easy to grab the hot mug out of Cas’s hand. “You can’t drink that… not at my house. It's just barely better than instant.”

“I would like my coffee back, Dean.”

Dean shook his head and walked to the sink. “I’m going to make your coffee, man. I can’t let you drink this crap. It’s my job to introduce you to foods, and I’m officially putting real coffee on that list.”

The angel watched Dean pour the steaming liquid down the sink, his expression blank. “That was very rude.”

Dean just shrugged. It wasn’t like he gave a shit what the angel thought of him, or at least he was trying really hard not to. Only an idiot would develop a crush on his brother’s boyfriend’s brother. “Well, tough. At least I’m gonna make you more. Besides, angels don’t even need to eat.”

“I enjoy the taste of coffee.”

“Well, you’ll enjoy this even more.”

Dean felt Cas’s eyes on him as he put his kettle on to boil, and then returned to the omelet before it was ruined. Once his eggs were done, his kettle was whistling so he poured the boiling water into the press, added a few tablespoons of coffee grounds, and then topped it with the lid. He turned back to the angel and gestured to the press. “Now, you wait about five or six minutes and push that down. It filters the coffee and you can pour it into your cup.”

The angel didn’t look impressed, but still graciously accepted the omelet that Dean passed his way. “My freeze-dried coffee is much quicker.”

Dean groaned. “Just try this ok? And don’t you dare put that sugary creamer in it. I let Gabe fix me up a cup once, and I almost died.”

“I prefer my coffee black.”

He sighed in relief. “Well, good. I like a bit of cream, but whatever floats your boat.”

The man squinted. “Boats float due to the upward force of buoyancy.”

Dean snickered despite himself. “That’s cute, angel.”

“Isn’t that a term of endearment generally used between those in a romantic relationship?”

Dean’s face turned red. “Well, yeah… but you’re an angel though, so I just…”

“Gabriel had been overseeing my introduction to pop culture, and terms such as ‘angel’ or ‘sweetheart’ are commonly used to show affection.”

“Well, what should I call you, then?” he asked, cursing Sandra Bullock to the dark pits of hell.

The angel just looked at him. “I do have a name.”

“Yeah, I know.” He rolled his eyes and handed Cas a fork so he could start on his own omelet. “It’s Cas.”

“Cas is a shortened version of Castiel, making it a nickname,” He said. “Nicknames are also used to show affection, are they not?”

“Yeah. But not romantic affection…”

“Platonic affection?” Cas clarified.

“Sure.”

Cas just nodded and stared at the steaming French press, forking a bite of the stuffed omelet into his mouth every once in a while. A minute or so later, Cas spoke up. “It has been exactly 5 minutes since you set the grinds to soak.”

Dean shrugged and continued eating his breakfast. “Push the thing down, then.”

Cas did and then poured the fresh coffee into a mug. With a delicate sniff, he glanced at Dean and then took a small sip. “It tastes the same.”

Dean gasped. “Don’t say that!”

He took another sip and frowned. “If it tastes the same, I’d rather use my freeze-dried coffee. It’s much quicker.”

Dean stood, abandoning the last few bites of his meal, and grabbed the cup. With a glare, he took a sip. “It doesn’t taste the same.”

“How would you know? You didn’t try my coffee before you poured it down the sink.”

“This-” he gestured to the bag of coffee beans. “-is made in America by a veteran-owned company. Don’t tell me that you think your $3 dollar container of freeze-dried coffee is better.”

Cas just stared at him back. “I’ll thank you to allow me to drink the coffee I prefer.”

Dean groaned. He’d have to call Gabe and see how long his brother would need to stay with him, because this? This was just disrespectful. No matter how hot a dude was, or how soft and fluffy his wings looked, or the cute way he had to turn so he could go through doorways was, or- wait. Where was he going with that? “Fine. Do what you want. I’m keeping this.”

Cas got up to make himself another cup of coffee. Grinding his teeth when Cas put a mug of water into the microwave when there was a perfectly good kettle waiting on the stove, he watched Cas mix in his coffee and make himself a cup. They both drank in silence, Cas paying Dean no mind as he stared out of the window, and Dean looking at him far more than was considered acceptable.

A little uncomfortable with the silence, Dean said the first thing that popped into his mind. “So, you guys don’t have coffee in heaven?”

“We have no need for such things.”

“So, you don’t eat anything in heaven?”

“Our souls are sustained off of the pure love of our father.”

“Sounds delicious…” He muttered

“Our true forms do not contain taste buds.”

“Well, that’s boring. Food is one of the best things about being human.”

Cas looked down at his coffee. “If I did have taste buds, I think I would have liked to have coffee in heaven.”

Dean smiled at Cas’s attempt at small talk. “I bet the other angels would like it too.”

Blue eyes met his. “Most of my brothers and sisters have no plans to leave heaven. They find all aspects of human life abhorrent. I think they wouldn’t even try it.”

“They sound like a bunch of dicks,” He grunted, offended on behalf of humans everywhere. “Gabe says it’s pretty boring up there. Is that why you came down?”

“Not necessarily. I think I would have been content to stay, had Gabriel not left. He was my only companion. The other angels find me distasteful.”

“What the hell?” He asked. “What’s their problem?”

“They found my inability to find a mate to be odd,” Cas explained, his eyes downcast. “Most are already paired or are too young for me to even consider. Even if that weren’t the case, most consider my wings to be unattractive.”

“Your wings are badass!”

Cas glanced up at him, shy and clearly pleased. “You like them?”

“Yeah. They’re cool.” 

Cas smiled, small and sweet, and his wings puffed happily. “I’m glad you think so. I was created to be a soldier, and because of that, I have larger wings compared to others. They aide in battle and offer us more agility in flight. Unfortunately, when the war ended it became vogue to have smaller wings. Because of this, soldiers were the first to come down to earth in hopes of finding a mate. I was one of the last who remained,” He paused to take a sip of coffee, and Dean realized that the angel was choosing his words carefully. “Smaller wings are believed to be a sign of intellect while large wings are considered vulgar and uncultured.”

“Well, I don’t think you’ll have that problem with a human,” Dean reassured him quickly, because _holy shit_, Cas had been a soldier? He had flashes of Cas outfitted like a knight, sword in one hand and large wings flared behind him. He shook that thought out of his head as quickly as it came. “We like big wings down here. In fact, you’ll probably see pretty quickly that some people like them a little too much…”

“Too much?”

“Yeah…” He hedged. “You know… some people think wings are hot.”

“Are you one of them?”

Dean broke out into a sweat as soon as those words left Cas’s mouth. Yesterday the answer would have been no. Wings were just wings. Feathers, bones, and muscles. Nothing special. In fact, Dean hadn’t cared for Anna’s wings much at all and only saw them as a way to get her soaking wet with only a few touches. Now, though? He gulped and tried his best to appear nonchalant. “They’re alright.”

“Oh.” Cas looked down at the table. “I had faith that my wings wouldn’t hinder my chances on earth.”

He pulled at the neck of his t-shirt in an attempt to cool down. “So, you came to earth to find a mate?”

“That is one of the reasons.”

Dean waited for him to continue, but the angel just returned to his silence. Deflated, because that would have been the perfect moment for Cas to tell him ‘It's you I want!’ Dean forced a smile. “Well, I gotta go to work.”

Cas’s eyes followed him as he got up and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. He paused, unsure if he should ask Cas to come along, but decided against it. He’d invite him another day. Maybe. He’d have to talk to Charlie about what impact an angel in the workplace would have. He couldn’t have his employees distracted, after all.

“Enjoy yourself, Dean.”

He smirked at Cas. “Thanks, Cas.”

As soon as he shut himself into Baby, he let out a loud groan and thumped his forehead against the steering wheel. God, he was a mess.

At work, Dean couldn’t get Cas off his mind. What was the angel doing? Was he bored? Was he watching any of the movies Dean set aside for him? Oh shit… was he watching the Star Wars movies in the right order? Three hours later, he was just about ready to go home and check on him. Maybe he could add Cas to his cell phone plan, that way he’d be able to text and check up on him.

Ten minutes later, the anxiety was too much to handle so he dialed his home phone and crossed his fingers that the angel would answer.

A few seconds of ringing and the phone was answered. “Hello. Winchester residence.”

Dean sighed in relief. “Hey, buddy. Just checking in.”

“I’ve been keeping myself amused.”

Dean waited a minute to see if Cas would elaborate, but the angel remained silent. “Well, that’s awesome. Watch any of the movies?”

“I enjoy Netflix quite a lot,” He answered. “They have a wide selection of movies available. The baking shows, in particular, are very interesting.”

“Don’t tell Gabe,” He joked, “He’ll try to hire you.”

“I don’t think baking is in my future,” Cas replied. “From what I understand, there is a lot of room for error.”

Dean shrugged. “I guess. Listen, I called to check-in, but also to let you know I’m planning on getting you a phone. How does that sound?”

“I don’t think that is necessary.”

Dean frowned. “Yeah? Why not?”

“I don’t have a large pool of acquaintances.”

“So? Don’t you want to talk to them?”

“Let me clarify. You, Samuel, and Gabriel are my only acquaintances. I do not require a device to speak to Gabriel, and if you or your brother would like to talk to me, you are more than welcome to either use the landline or pray.”

“Pray?”

“Of course,” Castiel answered. “Now that I know your voice, it will be easy to pick you out from the multitude. You merely need to concentrate on me, and I’ll hear you.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. _Hi Cas_.

“Hello, Dean,” He answered back.

Dean smiled. “That’s pretty cool, man. There’s only one problem. What if you want to talk to me?”

“I know how to work a phone.”

“I’m not always in the office, though,” He reasoned. “Let me get you on my phone plan, ok? Do it for me.”

Cas remained silent for a moment. “Alright, Dean. If it will bring you reassurance, then I will allow you to add me to your plan.”

Dean smiled. “Cool. Thanks, man.”

He hung up after a quick goodbye, and couldn’t erase the smile off his face. 

Unfortunately, that was how Charlie found him.

“Hey, boss! Did your heart grow three times bigger? Whats up?”

He forced the smile off of his face. “Nothing, Charles.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Oh yeah? Does this have anything to do with a certain angel?”

“Damnit. Who told you?”

She smiled. “A little birdy.”

He growled, “I’m going to kill Sammy.”

“Tell me about him.” 

“Nothing to tell.” He groaned.

She squeaked, “Do you like him?”

“Doesn’t matter.” 

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “You should be at home with the angel!”

“Can’t.”

Charlie was entirely unsympathetic to his problem. “So, you’re telling me that you have a stupidly hot angel waiting for you at home, and you’re here? Doing paperwork? Are you crazy?”

“I have a shop to run, Charles.” He grumbled.

“If I were you, I’d be at home right now showing him the best parts about being human, if you know what I mean.” She winked at him as if her point hadn’t been pretty damn clear.

“It’s not like that,” He assured her. “He’s not interested in me.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Wouldn’t he have done something about it, if he wanted me?” He asked. “Trust me, he’s not going to want someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” She questioned, an eyebrow cocked in annoyance. “You mean someone smart, sexy, and good with his hands? Someone who can cook, and is capable of running his own business? Someone who is funny and caring? Wow, it sounds horrible. You’re right, he probably hates you.”

“I don’t appreciate the sarcasm,” he warned. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Don’t change the subject!”

“He just got here, Charlie. He has a whole world of people who would want to jump his angel dick, he’s not going to want me.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“Hmmm…” She sat on the edge of his desk. “I think you should ask him out.”

“I just said he doesn’t see me that way,” He reminded her, “And Gabe said that an angel would come to the person they were interested in.”

Her eyes lit up. “You talked to Gabriel about him?”

“No. It was something he said a while ago.”

She gave him a pointed look. “You said so yourself: he’s brand-spanking new. Maybe he just doesn’t know how to approach you?”

He rubbed at his eyes, already scratchy and tired from staring at the computer all morning. “He’s not gonna want to go out with the first human who’s nice to him.”

“Well, that’s great because I’m pretty sure Sam was the first human who was nice to him,” She said. “That leaves you firmly in the running.”

“There’s no ‘running,’” He grunted. “Go do your work, Charles.”

She held her hands up in defeat. “Aright, jeez. I can see when I’m not wanted.” She started to leave but stopped right at the door. “Hey, do you think he likes redheads?”

His reaction was sudden. Dean was on his feet in a second, mouth open and primed to tell her to back the fuck off. The only thing that stopped him was the smug look on her face. He sat back down and looked away. “You don’t even like men. I see what you’re doing and it’s not going to work.”

She smiled wolfishly. “You should go home, boss. Seduce that angel, see what he can do with those wings of his and have some freaky sex. Get one of those angel mating marks.”

He sighed. “He doesn’t see me like that, and I don’t want to make things awkward. Besides, those marks are pretty tacky, if you ask me. I saw a guy walk into Gabe’s bakery the other day who had one on his face. His face! What kinda asshole angel puts a mating mark on someone’s face.”

“Same kinda person who leaves hickeys on someone’s neck.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Know anyone who does that?”

He grimaced. “Well, hickeys aren’t permanent, so…”

“I’m sure your angel wouldn’t mind a few hickeys,” she mused. “Listen, you’ll never know unless you try.”

“I know,” He grumbled. “He doesn’t want me.”

She shrugged. “I have work to do. I’ll throw you a party when you mate with Cas.”

He searched his desk for something to throw, but by the time he found a ballpoint pen, she was gone.

Dean rested his head on his cool desk and groaned loudly. Charlie didn’t understand. Cas was… he was just so handsome, and kind of strange, but in an interesting sort of way. He could do a lot better than Dean, who spent most of his day covered in grease and other car fluids. With his looks, Cas could have anyone.

When he got home, he decided that his first order of business would be to get Cas out of that god awful white suit. Cas agreed to the trip to the mall easily enough, the only snag in his plan was when Dean introduced Cas to his Baby.

“She’s beautiful,” Cas conceded, “But my wings won't fit comfortably.”

“Cas…” He put his hand over his heart. “You’ve hurt me.”

“Dean.”

Dean soothed his hand over his Impala’s black paint. “Cas, please. We can tuck them to the side, can't we?”

“Dean.”

“Or maybe we can have you kneel on the seat backward…”

“I can just fly to the mall on my own.”

Dean saw all of his dreams of Cas in his car die instantly. “No. I can work this out.”

“I don’t see-”

“The back seat!” Dean shouted. “You can sit in the backseat, Cas. It’s pretty roomy back there, as my last girlfriend can confirm.” Dean bit his lip. “Forget I said that.”

Cas was looking at him again. “I can fly.”

“Can we just try?” He pleaded. “You’ll love her, I promise.”

Cas looked back and forth between Dean and the car, and finally, he let out a sigh. “I will try.”

Dean’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Awesome. You’re going to love it. Have you been in one before?”

“No, I have not.”

He smiled and walked over to the back passenger door and opened her up. “She’s gentle, I promise.”

Cas eyed the interior of the car for a moment before tucking his wings into his back and shuffling into the back seat. He had to use the passenger seat’s headrest as a handhold, but he was finally able to shimmy himself into the middle seat and spread his wings just far enough so that he was able to sit a little straighter. Cas glanced up at Dean. “Is this correct?”

“Yeah,” He answered confidently, although he really had no idea. “How does it feel?”

“Strange,” He mused. “Like my wings are being pinned.”

Dean bit his lip. “Maybe you can lay down?”

Cas shook his head. “I think it would be better to meet you at the mall.”

“No, we’ll work this out.”

“When you arrive, send me a prayer so I can find you.”

Before Dean could argue, Cas was gone. 

“Shit.” He mumbled before climbing into the driver's seat.

When he finally fought his way through traffic and arrived at the mall, he parked his car in the lot near the food court and got out. Once he was in the building, he bypassed the restaurants, grabbing a few of the samples on his way, and stopped in front of the Foot Locker.

“Uh, Cas. I pray that you can meet me at the Foot-”

“Dean.”

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin. “Shit, Cas!”

“You don’t need to pray out loud, just a clear thought will do.”

“Could you stop popping in on me like that?” Dean demanded. “Warn a guy, at least.”

“My apologies. Perhaps I can clear my throat next time?”

“Let's just get this over with, ok? We’ll get you a phone first, and then head over to Heavenly Raiment so we can spend Gabe’s money.”

“They’ll have clothes to accommodate my wings?”

“They should,” Dean guessed. “Like I said earlier, I’ve never been in there.”

Cas just hummed and followed Dean into the phone store. After nearly thirty minutes, in which 90% was spent arguing with Cas about why he needed a smartphone versus a $10 flip phone, they made their purchase and left.

“I don’t understand why there are so many applications on this phone. Isn't the purpose of a phone to make phone calls?”

Dean rolled his eyes for the hundredth time in the last half hour. “Yeah, but you gotta text too. Trust me, you’ll want a smartphone to do that.”

“Why can't I just call you if I need to talk?”

“I’m usually busy at work and can't take calls, but it only takes a few seconds to read and respond to texts so it makes more sense for us. Got it?”

“I do,” He mumbled. “If you are busy, the best way to contact me will be through prayer.”

Dean sighed. “Feels weird to pray. My mom was religious and we used to pray before meals, but I haven’t done anything like that in more than a decade.” Dean thought for a moment. “Well, no. Lisa used to pray before bed, so I guess it hasn’t been that long.”

“Lisa was a past partner, right. Why did you choose not to mate?”

“Humans don’t mate each other. We get married. I didn’t marry Lisa, but we lived together for almost two years.”

“And then you ended things?”

“It was mutual…” He grumped, not wanting to think about how Lisa had dumped his ass. “Let's go to that other store now, ok?”

Cas nodded and followed him to Heavenly Raiment, one of the few stores that catered specifically to angels in the city. He’d passed by the place dozens of times but had never done more than glance inside curiously before moving on. Leading the way, Dean pushed through the glass doors and was met with a posh looking boutique. The store was surprisingly busy, filled with both humans and angels alike, and had racks upon racks of clothes waiting for perusal.

Cas walked past him and offered Dean a small smile. “This place is wonderful.”

Dean just grunted and followed Cas into the store. Not even ten steps in, Cas froze mid-step and let out a surprised breath. “Samandriel?”

Dean saw an angel, brown hair and silver wings, turn and immediately light up at the sight of Cas. “Castiel!”

Without missing a beat, Samandriel made a b-line for Cas and swept him up in a hug. Cas wrapped his wings around the smaller angel, enfolding his smaller wings completely, and held him for a few minutes before pulling apart and offering the kid the widest smile Dean had seen from him yet. They exchanged some quiet words while Dean waited behind them, then finally, Cas turned to Dean.

With a smile still on his face, Cas clapped a hand on the other angel's shoulder and finally addressed Dean. “This is Samandriel. He was a part of my garrison. We’ve been through many battles together.”

Dean held his hand out to shake and looked the angel up and down. He was dressed casually in a button-down shirt with a nametag and jeans. His wings, while nice, weren’t nearly as awesome as Cas’s. “Hey, Samandriel. Nice to meet you.”

“Call me Alfie,” He told him and then turned his attention back to Cas. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, brother. Have you just arrived?”

“Just this week.”

“Have you been to see Gabriel?”

Cas sighed, long and deep. “Yes, but I am staying with Dean now.”

Alfie looked back at Dean with an expression of surprise. “Oh?”

Dean took a step forward so he could include himself in the conversation. It was stupid, he knew, but he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the newcomer. “Yeah. Gabe is dating my brother, so I let him stay with me for a while.”

Alfie nodded in understanding. “Ah, yes. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of their courting either.”

Dean shrugged. “I guess.”

Alfie turned back to Cas and gestured to his clothing. “I see you are in need of clothes.”

“I’ve noticed that quite a few of the humans were staring,” Cas admitted, and Dean frowned. He hadn’t noticed that at all. “I have money.”

“Come with me, then. I’ll get you a wardrobe.” Alfie grabbed Cas’s arm and started dragging him away. The silver wings flared out to wrap over Cas’s, pushing him along faster. “I know it’s strange to need more than one outfit, but you’ll get used to changing your clothes every day.”

They walked off, leaving Dean standing there like an idiot. He sighed, looking around for somewhere to sit, but couldn’t find anything. With nothing better to do, he wandered to the shelves and started picking up bottles so he could see what they were. 

Wing oils in various scents, a few different kinds of massage creams specifically for wing joints, and a whole lot of fancy skincare products. He picked up the wing oil and rolled his eyes at the ingredient list. Someone could order that shit online and mix it themselves for a quarter of the price. Seemed like a load of crap, to Dean. He put the bottle back and grabbed a shave balm out of curiosity.

“Are you shopping for your mate?” A female voice asked.

He turned to see a kind-looking brunette angel addressing him, her hands clasped in front of her. “Uh…”

She just smiled at him and gestured to the jars. “We have a large variety of oils to choose from. Does your mate have a preference?”

“It's not for a mate,” He admitted.

Her smile seemed to get even bigger. “Oh! You’re courting. That’s wonderful. Grooming is an integral part of the process, you know, and the bond only grows with each session. I’ll admit that it feels wonderful for the angel, too. Would you like any recommendations? We can even offer samples if you-”

“No, I’m just here with a friend.”

She took a step back and her smile slipped just a fraction. “My apologies. Is there anything I can help you with, then?”

He wouldn’t be surprised if he was red as a tomato, at that point. “No. I was just curious. Alfie is helping Cas out, so…”

“Well then, I’ll just leave you be. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Then she was walking away, leaving a flustered Dean behind.

Not wanting to go through that again, he concentrated on Cas and sent him a quick thought. _Hey, I’m heading to the food court. Call me when you have what you need._ And with that, he headed for the door, only pausing to look briefly at one of the beige trench coats on the way out, thinking that it looked like something only a flasher would wear.

Five minutes later, Dean had his corndog meal in hand and was screwing around on his phone. He really hoped that they had some good stuff at Heavenly Raiment, for his own sake. Having to make a trip to another store sounded like his own personal hell.

By the time he finished his second corndog, and caught up on a few of his emails, he was starting to get a little impatient. Cas had been in there for a little over an hour and still hadn’t sent him a text. Bored and more than a little annoyed, Dean bought two more corndogs and sat back down. Just as he began planning a rescue mission to get him away from there, his phone beeped with a text.

Cas:

I am ready.

Dean smiled at the little period at the end of his text and began the walk back. Just as the store came into view, Dean froze in shock. If it weren’t for the remarkably large black wings, he wouldn’t have even recognized Cas.

“Cas?”

The angel in question paused in his conversation with Alfie and turned to Dean, his entire face lighting up. “Hello, Dean.”

Dean took Cas in. He didn’t know where to look, because the angel was dressed almost exactly like Dean. Cas was wearing a dark blue t-shirt under a maroon flannel, dark jeans, and brown boots. To top off the look, an army green cotton jacket hung over his forearm. 

“What do you think?” Cas asked, his eyes open and pleading.

Oh god, he was in so much trouble.

“You look great!” Dean was finally able to choke out after swallowing past the lump in his throat. He forced a smile and hoped that Cas couldn’t tell just how off-kilter he was feeling.

Cas slumped in relief. “I’m glad. I saw these items and was immediately reminded of you. You look very nice, Dean, so Alfie and I decided this was a good place to start.”

His entire body went warm at that compliment. Cas thought he looked nice? Did he look nice as in ‘put together’ or nice as in attractive? Dean pulled at his collar and cleared his throat. “Thanks, Cas. What else did you get?”

Cas peered into one of the three shopping bags. “I purchased a number of shirts, some similar to the one I’m wearing now and a few that are buttoned, a few sweaters, jeans, slacks, and a pair of shorts as well as undergarments. I also saw a coat on my way out, and decided to add that to my purchases.”

“Sounds like you got everything you need.” He turned to glare at Alfie’s back, glad the angel was unaware of the anger being directed his way. “Did Alfie help you pick out those undergarments?

Cas nodded happily and walked the last few steps so that he was standing beside Dean. “I like that store very much.”

Dean wanted to smack his head against the wall. He had no reason to be jealous of the other angel. Cas definitely wasn’t his, so if he wanted to hand out with Alfie, that wasn’t any of his damn business. “I see. Let's get the hell out of here.”

“Of course. Have you eaten? We can make a ‘pit stop’ in the food court.”

Dean held back his laughter at Cas’s air quotes. “I’m fine. Ate a few corndogs while I was waiting.”

“Corndogs?”

“Hotdogs covered in corn batter and deep-fried,” He elaborated. “And some fries.”

“Deep-fried,” Cas repeated, a frown making its way onto his face. “I've been doing research about the nutrient density and bioavailability of certain foods. Corn is low in nutrients, and the vegetable oils used for frying are highly inflammatory.”

Dean scoffed and started making his way to the mall’s exit. “You sound like my brother.”

“Your brother is smart.” Cas fell into step beside Dean. “You are a beautiful man, and you clearly care for your appearance. It is in your best interest to avoid foods fried in seed oils.”

Dean’s face flushed as red as a tomato. “I’m not beautiful, Cas. Men aren’t beautiful.”

Cas continued to stare. “Beauty comes in many forms.”

He was so fucked.

“Let's get out of here,” He grumbled, and then speed-walked all the way to his car.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Dean spent the next week trying to glean as much information about Cas as he could. He was able to find out that Cas didn’t like spicy food. At all. Dean solidly blamed Gabriel for that one. He also found out that Cas liked to fill his downtime with walks in the park and nature documentaries. He joined Cas on one of the walks, and Cas spent the time pointing out plants and giving Dean their scientific names.

Dean spent every hour they were together enraptured by the guy, equal parts amazed that heaven produced such an awesome angel, and in denial that his crush was getting worse. They ended the afternoon by getting a pastry from Gabe’s bakery. Cas got a chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon and Dean got a thick fudge brownie. It wasn’t a date.

Dean found out that Cas loved bees and scented candles. He found out that Cas didn’t like the shower, but enjoyed the occasional bath. He found out Cas’s favorite color was yellow. Dean learned that Cas liked his coffee iced, and that was why he preferred the freeze-dried variety. It was just quicker to mix it into already cold water, than brew it and wait for it to cool.

The most important fact of all came a week later.

He had just come off a tiring day at work, one when everything seemed to be going wrong, and no one seemed to be able to get any work done. All he wanted to do was crack open a pint of ice cream and settle in for a Netflix binge. The drive home was fine. He got into his house just fine. He got a beer from the fridge just fine. He made his way up the stairs so he could grab his laptop from his office, which was all fine and dandy until he made it into his loft and saw a complete stranger sitting on the couch and reading a book.

“Uh…hi?” He stared at the blonde girl long and hard, trying to see if he recognized her, but no… he didn’t. “Who are you?”

Her blue eyes met his and her eyebrow rose in challenge. “I’m a friend of Cas.”

“Oh,” he replied stupidly. “Excuse me, I’ll just…”

He slunk to Cas’s door and knocked. The angel opened the door quickly. “Hello, Dean.”

“Can I come in?” Cas moved to the side and Dean was able to step into Cas’s room. Cas hadn’t done much to change the room in his time occupying it, the only difference was the thick stack of comforters that were piled on his bed. The guy had a thing for blankets, apparently, and Dean let him have every spare blanket in the house. He was helpless to resist those baby blues. “You have a friend over?”

“Oh, yes,” He replied as if he had forgotten she was there. “Claire.”

“She’s what, sixteen?” Dean asked.

“I believe,” He replied. “She was remiss to give me too much information.”

“Uh-uh…” Dean nodded. “Um… how long has she been your friend?”

“I met her today,” Cas supplied. His eyebrows furrowed and his wings fluttered nervously. “You told me I was welcome to have company over.”

Dean had meant Gabe and any other angels he might befriend, maybe even a potential mate. “Yeah, I did.”

“Claire was in need of a shower and a place to rest.”

The cogs in Dean’s head started turning. “Wait… did you pick her up off the street?”

Cas frowned and tilted his head in the way that totally didn’t make Dean’s heart flutter. “Claire doesn’t have a home.”

Dean groaned and floundered for a way to explain to Cas that it just wasn’t smart to let homeless people into their home, but there just wasn’t a way that didn’t make him sound like a complete dick. “I, uh…”

Comprehension suddenly dawns on Cas’s face. “Claire has a bright soul, Dean. She is trustworthy.”

“Soul?” Dean questions.

“Yes. Her soul. It’s a very pleasant pale orange. Very pure.”

Shit. Cas could see people’s souls? Well, no fucking wonder Cas never showed any interest in him. Dean’s soul was probably dark and muddy, and he was frankly surprised that Cas was even willing to be around him. “Oh.”

“So, you can trust me when I say that she is worthy of being shown this kindness.”

“Yeah,” He replied dumbly, “Okay.”

Cas smiled brightly at him and Dean’s heart sped up at the radiance of it all. “Thank you, Dean.”

With a nod, Dean left Cas’s room and stumbled away. He stopped at the loft and eyed Claire. “You want a sandwich?”

She peeked at him over the top of the book. “Sure.”

“Ham and cheese alright?”

She nodded at him, her eyes squinted. She looked so much like Cas, that he almost marched down the stairs before getting her answer. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Cool.” He began his descent down the stairs but stopped himself before she was out of view. Without looking in her direction, because he really didn’t want to see her reaction, he cleared his throat. “The couch is yours tonight if you want it.”

In the kitchen, he was a mess. Dean couldn’t believe that he just offered his couch to a random teenager that Cas had invited into his home. It spoke volumes to the trust he placed in Cas, and it honestly scared him. He knew, without a doubt, that if Cas was willing to vouch for her, then she could be trusted. He wouldn’t wake up in the morning and have half of his shit gone. She had a pure soul, Cas had said, a beautiful one, and if that wasn’t one hell of a character reference, then he didn’t know what was.

He made three ham and cheese sandwiches with all of the toppings and began snacking on his before heading back to Claire. Mouth full, he shoved the plate at her and watched as she put down the book to take the plate. He sat in the armchair directly across from her and they ate in silence, eyeing each other warily.

“Did he tell you the whole soul thing?” He finally asked her after swallowing his last bite.

She placed the rest of the sandwich back on her plate and put it down so she could cross her arms. Defensive, Dean thought to himself. She was just as uncomfortable as he was. “Yeah. He stopped me in the street and asked me if I needed help. Almost told him to fuck off, but it's not every day that a literal angel stops you and offers help. I figure if there’s anyone I can ask, it's him. Besides, he looked nice enough.”

Dean nodded in agreement. Not all angels were saints, but it wasn’t hard to look into Cas’s wide blue eyes and see that he was as good as they come. “Yeah. He has that effect on people.”

“No kidding…” She mumbled. “He offered to buy me clothes and let me come over. I said no, of course, but then he told me it wasn’t his money so I can buy whatever I wanted.” She gestured to the bag that was tucked into the side of the loveseat and fiddled with the handle. “I took him up on his offer.”

Dean smirked. “Yeah, his brother gave him full access to his bank account when he came down, but he hasn’t really used it much. Gabe will be thrilled to think Cas bought more stuff.”

She smiled back and her eyes lit up. “Well, I feel even less bad, now. After that, he bought me a coffee and offered to let me shower over here. Said you wouldn’t mind.”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t, really. I was just surprised. I was afraid that I was the only one he talked to, so I’m honestly just happy he’s making friends… even if they’re sixteen-year-old girls.”

Claire pursed her lips and flipped her damp hair over her shoulder. “I’m seventeen, you know.”

He smirked. “Ok, seventeen.”

She nodded. “Clothes are in the wash, so I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“No way,” he insisted, “I was serious about you using the couch tonight. I’m not going to let some twelve-year-old-”

“Seventeen!”

“-sleep out on the street. It's supposed to rain tonight.”

She huffed but didn’t put up an argument. Smart girl. “Fine.”

“Cool.” He slapped his hands on his knees and stood up. “Dinner will be ready in a few hours.”

“He was right, you know.”

Her voice stopped him. “About what?”

“You.”

He turned to look at her. “What did he say?”

She smiled at the nerves that were so obvious in his voice. “He called you kind. Said you wouldn’t mind me coming over.”

A little red in the face, he nodded to her and turned to leave. Once more, her voice stopped him.

“He also said your soul was the brightest he’d ever seen.”

“Well, I-” Blushing heavily, he turned and headed down the stairs, leaving Claire to read in peace. She was just fucking with him since there was no way he’d say that. He’d done some bad shit in his life. Shit that put food on the table and presents under the Christmas tree. Stuff that Sammy would never find out about. In the kitchen, he got started on the soup he had been planning for dinner, determined to forget what Claire had told him.

He couldn’t forget.

His house became something of a revolving door for people down on their luck. He never asked their story, but some had told him anyway. Claire had been caught making out with her ‘study partner’ in her room, and then kicked out for being a lesbian. Jack had been in and out of the foster system, and at eighteen was out for good. He had no family to fall back on and had been living in his car. Ash, the oldest of them all, was on the run. Dean never knew what for, but there was a reason he never asked. The less he knew, the better. Ash stayed for a week and helped out at Dean’s shop. He had no knowledge of cars, but he was willing to clean for a few bucks. Kaia had been living in her car and stopped by for a shower and hot meal, and once Claire let herself in they hit it off and left together. Dean had long since stopped locking his door.

Sam found the whole thing hilarious and called him whipped. Dean had replied that he couldn’t be whipped if he wasn’t in a relationship. Which he definitely wasn’t. Neither was Cas.

Dean had thought that Cas would eventually bring a man or woman around, but the only people he ever seemed to bring by were kids — well, and Ash. Was he just picky? Had he not found anyone yet? Dean didn’t know, but in the back of his mind, a little voice was chanting: You still have a chance! You still have a chance! That voice was quiet but insistent. Gabe had long ago told Dean that an interested angel would always come to you. Cas hadn’t done that. Sure, they ate together at dinner time, and they watched TV together before Dean went to bed. Cas even switched his afternoon walks to the evening just so Dean could join him. Cas even texted Dean almost every hour with cute little animal pictures. Surely, Dean would know if Cas liked him. In the entire month Cas had been living with Dean, he hadn’t once shown Dean anything other than friendship.

It really fucking hurt.

Dean pushed through the ache in his chest and finished cooking the Italian sausage and peppers he had been making for dinner. Claire had sent a text and mentioned that she would be dropping by, so he made sure to make extra. Leaving the onions and red bell peppers to sauté, he tossed the freshly buttered loaf of French bread into the broiler and got out a few plates. It was a few minutes later that he turned off the burner and took the bread out of the oven.

“Cas?” Dean called, knowing that the angel could hear him from the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready!”

There was no reply, so Dean made his way upstairs. Cas’s door was closed, so he knocked lightly and waited. This wouldn’t be the first time Cas ignored him when he was busy, and he knew Cas would wander down soon, but he wanted to be sure Cas knew that Claire was coming over.

“Come in,” Was Cas’s low reply.

He opened the door and saw Cas situated at the desk, the glow from the laptop lightening his face.

“What are you doing?” Dean asked, making his way to stand beside the angel. Cas shifted his wing out of the way, and as soon as Dean was at his side, he let his wing fall behind Dean, a few feathers brushing lightly over his shirt. Dean stood as still as possible, worried that if he leaned into the accidental touch, Cas would spook.

“Online shopping.”

“Are you taking Gabe’s bank account for a ride?”

“I’ve decided to utilize his card to explore a hobby.”

He raised his eyebrows and eyed the frilly looking webpage. “Yeah? You know that whole essential oil thing is bullshit, right? They don’t actually cure anything.”

Cas turned to look at him. “Why would I try and use oils to cure an ailment? I’m an angel.” He pointed at one of the items on the page. “These are fragrance oils.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“Soap making.”

“Huh?” Was his brilliant reply.

“I saw a soap display at the local farmers market. The lady running it showed me where I could find some resources, and I've been doing research.”

Oh, the farmers market that Dean had been too busy to go to… “Oh.”

“It’s a simple process, Dean. One that I feel can be picked up quite easily. The tricky part would be making them visually appealing.”

“So, you want to make soap?”

“Yes.”

“Do you even use soap?”

“Do I have to use soap in order to make it?”

Dean frowned. “I guess not.”

Cas nodded in satisfaction. “I’ve compiled a list of items I’ll need to purchase. I’m currently browsing the fragrance oils. Can you tell me what Moonlight Path smells like? That seems like an odd name for a fragrance.”

Dean thought of his bar soap and scratched his head. “I don’t know. I just buy Old Spice, so I’m at a loss here. I didn’t even know you could make that stuff on your own…”

Cas seemed to understand Dean’s confusion and turned to the computer so he could change tabs to YouTube. With a quick search for ‘Cold process soap making,’ video after video of frilly and colorful soaps popped onto the screen. “These are the types of soap I’ll be making. This young woman in particular-” he pointed to one video with a girl’s smiling face. “-has an assortment of videos where she details how to make the soaps. She calls herself the Duchess of Suds.”

Dean snorted at the nickname. “They look like cupcakes.”

Cas nodded. “Yes. A piping bag gives you the frosting effect.”

Dean stared at the screen for a moment longer. “Ok, well… I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Cas turned to Dean and regarded him seriously. “If I am successful in this hobby, I’d like to open a small online shop, or perhaps set up a booth at the farmers market.”

The realization was slow in coming. If Cas was successful, then he’d be able to make enough money to move out on his own. If he moved out on his own, he’d meet new people and forget all about Dean. He’d find a mate and never talk to Dean again.

“Sounds good,” He choked out.

Cas seemed pleased. “I thought so too. I should have everything in a few weeks. Hopefully, this will work out.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Same. Uh… I’m going to go and get started on dinner. Should be ready by seven.”

Once safely in the kitchen, he let out his breath. He knew Cas would leave eventually. All of them did, and it was stupid to think Cas would be any different. He pulled out the ingredients for beef stew on autopilot and added everything to his pot. Once the pot was simmering away, he let himself collapse onto a stool. Cas was going to leave, and where would that put Dean? Would he be left pining for a guy he never had a chance with in the first place?

Cas was going to find a human and live happily ever after, leaving a heartbroken Dean behind, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment to let me know what you thought!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where it earns it's E, and the epilogue is almost nothing but smut. I just sent it over to my beta, so once it gets her stamp of approval I'll post it!
> 
> Also, I didn't tag it as such, but this is my Nanowrimo project for the year. The epilogue will tip this over the 50k mark!

Every day, Cas’s hobby was growing.

When the lye and oils had first arrived, followed shortly by the mica powders and fragrance oils, Cas had sequestered himself into the kitchen and started immediately on his first batch of soap. Right off the bat, he blended his lye and oil mixture too much, so when it came time to pour the vanilla-scented mixture into the mold, it came out thick and clumpy. He patted it down with a rubber spatula the best he could, just as he’d seen them do in the Youtube videos, but the top refused to smooth out.

“Maybe you should just spread it more?” Dean suggested, peeking over Cas’s shoulder. “It’s not that bad…”

Cas turned his glare to Dean and fanned out his wings so Dean could no longer see the mess on the counter. “It needs to be perfect.”

“You know what they say,” he put his hand on Cas’s shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort. “Practice makes perfect.”

Cas squinted at him, annoyance clear on his face. “This is not helpful, Dean.”

Dean held his hands up in surrender. “Ok, buddy. I’ll just leave you to it, then.”

“Please, do.”

Dean bit his lip and left the kitchen for the safety of his living room. Over the sound of his crime drama, he could hear Cas tapping away on the laptop, and then a familiar Youtube intro began playing. Predictably, having a visual step by step guide to follow allowed the next one to be perfect.

Dean had to stare at the thing on the kitchen counter for two days until Cas unmolded it and took it to the slicer. Watching Cas smile as he held the square of soap up for Dean to examine filled him with both joy and a sense of impending sadness. The sooner Cas perfected the art, the sooner he was able to bring in money, the sooner Cas would be out of his life. 

Even Claire, who rarely complimented anything, paused and let Cas know it “Didn’t look half bad…”

Cas’s smile was blinding.

The two blocks of soap on the counter turned to three, and soon, there were half a dozen colorful blocks of soap making the whole house smell like a candle shop. Dean would have complained if not for the genuinely happy expression that appeared on Cas’s face every time he went to look at his creations.

As the number of soaps grew, so did his skill. It was the third week of soapmaking, just at the point where his kitchen was starting to feel overcrowded, that Dean noticed something strange. The little smiles that Cas only really gave to Dean on the rare occasion became a common occurrence, the touches that had been mostly accidental, started becoming normal, and as pathetic as it was…those touches became the highlight of his day. It took him a while to realize that it was _confidence_ that was relaxing Cas, and with a hobby, he was starting to genuinely enjoy his time on earth. He thought back to his brother telling him that an angel needed to find purpose on earth and cursed himself that he didn’t help Cas do something like this sooner, especially if this was the result.

Dean sat in his office one morning, desperately brainstorming ways to show his support for Cas’s new hobby. Sure, he allowed Cas to turn his kitchen into a soap storage room, and yeah, Dean lugged in box after heavy box of oil blends into the house for him, and Dean showed the appropriate levels of awe for each completed soap mold...but that wasn’t enough. Dean wanted to make it 100% clear to Cas that he supported him in whatever he was doing. Finally, as he tapped his fingers rhythmically on his wooden desk, it came to him.

He was on the phone with his brother a few minutes later, ready to beg if he had to, but Sammy jumped on board instantly. His brother was knocking on the door twenty minutes later and pulling Cas out of the house with promises of veggie wraps and shopping. Peeking through the living room curtain, he watched them head down to the end of the driveway, have a short conversation, and then vanish into thin air. He flinched at the sudden disappearance and shook his head. He’d never get used to that.

With the house finally to himself, Dean made his way up the stairs and to his office. It had served him well for more than a decade, but he had an office at the shop, and Cas needed the space more, especially if he was starting a business. Eventually, he’d like to build Cas an entire workshop in the backyard, but he knew in his heart that would never happen. It was only a matter of time before someone caught Cas’s eye, so it’d be better to get used to that idea now. It was dangerous to forget that Cas was going to leave.

He started by dismantling his desk, an old thing that was chipped on the corners and scratched on the sides. He didn’t care much for it, to be honest, so as soon as it was nothing more than wood and screws, he lugged all of the pieces downstairs and threw them in the trash. The potted plant was dragged to his bedroom, and his degrees were taken off the wall, but there wasn’t much else in the room. Most of his office furniture had been taken to his shop over time, so it was only a matter of moving the loveseat and large bookcase.

The last time he moved, Sam and Benny had helped him, so he had forgotten how difficult it was to single-handedly move large furniture. Dean spent the next fifteen minutes sliding his wooden bookcase down the staircase, praying to anyone listening that it wouldn’t scratch the banister, and into the garage before deciding that he wasn’t even going to bother with the loveseat. It wasn’t that big, he reasoned, and maybe if it was there Cas would be ok with Dean hanging out in his new soap room when he was working.

One trip to the hardware store saw Dean returning with a few worktables, two large storage racks, and a big upright cabinet he was sure Cas would love. He set everything up quickly, only stopping once for a snack break, and was able to get the room into some semblance of order before it was even lunchtime. When he was finished, he stepped back to admire his work. The racks were filled with soaps, some in the molds, and some already curing. After putting all of his supplies in the cupboard, he sat on the love seat and admired his work. Cas, he was sure, would love it. Sure, he’d miss his office, but Cas’s future was more important than a room he only really used on the weekends. If he needed an office space so bad, he could just set up a desk in his bedroom. The room was definitely big enough for it.

Two hours later, when Cas returned from his man-date with Sammy, Dean awkwardly let him know he had a surprise for him.

Cas seemed excited. “If I knew you got me something, I would have picked something for you at the farmers market. There was a lotion bar you would have liked at one of the booths. I believe it was pine-scented.”

Dean blushed. He fucking loved the scent of pine, and it had everything to do with the forest scent that always surrounded Cas. “I don’t know what a lotion bar is, but it sounds cool.”

“It’s solid lotion. You just pinch off a piece, rub it between your hands to melt it, and use it like regular lotion.” Cas shrugged off his trench coat and hung it up before shaking out his wings and moving to stand near Dean. “We had a wonderful afternoon. I’m sure you would have enjoyed yourself as well.”

Dean smiled at him and decided to keep his opinion on solid lotion to himself. “Come with me. I have to show you something.”

Cas followed him up the stairs. “I bought a few jars of honey for our breakfasts, as well. The farmers market is a wonderful place, Dean. I would like to go with you sometime.”

Dean grimaced at the suggestion but knew he would agree if Cas asked. “We’ll see about that.”

“I thought that the honey would go well with french toast.”

Dean grinned. “You want french toast for breakfast tomorrow? Consider it done.”

“Thank you, Dean. I love your french toast.”

Dean flushed warm at the compliment. He would cook Cas french toast every morning if he liked it so much. “No problem.”

“Is there a reason for this gift? From what I understand, gift-giving is usually done for special occasions.”

Dean paused in the loft and turned to him. “No special occasion. I just wanted to do something nice.”

Cas reached out and touched Dean’s arm. “That is very kind of you.”

“Yeah, well…” he shifted uncomfortably. “I’m just trying to help you out. Earth sucks, so…”

“You are not one of the things about earth that ‘suck.’” Cas took another step closer, his wings swinging forward to brush the sides of Dean’s arms. “I appreciate all that you’re doing for me.”

Nervous sweat began to collect at his collar. God, he wanted to reach out and touch Cas so bad. “It’s nothing.”

“You’re a very kind and generous man.”

“Ok, ok…” he cleared his throat and broke contact, stepping away from him before he did something stupid. “Don’t you want your surprise?”

Cas retracted his wings and gave Dean a small smile. “Of course.”

“Check out the office, then.” Dean stood back for a moment and took a moment to catch his breath. Cas was just being nice. There was no way Cas knew what those words were doing to him.

The angel frowned in confusion before making his way over to the closed door and pushed it open. As soon as Cas was able to see what Dean had done, he turned and pulled Dean into a tight hug. Dean sighed into it and wrapped his arms around the angel, not even trying to stop his fingers from brushing Cas’s soft wings. The angel only seemed to squeeze him harder in return. “Is this for me?”

Dean nodded against Cas’s neck. “Yeah. For your soaps.”

After a few more moments, Cas pulled from the hug and shook his head in wonder. “Thank you, Dean. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Dean blushed and gave him a friendly pat on the arm. “Yeah, well… just do me a favor and open the window when you’re working. I don’t want the whole house to smell like cupcakes.”

“I will do that,” Cas promised. “Thank you, Dean. It means a lot to me that you would give up your space like this.”

Dean blushed and looked away. “I just wanted my kitchen back.”

He leaned against the door jam and watched the angel with a smile. Cas practically glowed with happiness as he opened and closed his cabinet, noting where things had been placed, and then moved to check the racks. His black wings puffed and fluttered, and bumped into the worktables, but Dean had learned long ago that it meant Cas was happy. Really happy.

With a new base for his operations, Cas was able to double his output. The loveseat he’d left became one of Dean’s favorite places purely because he was able to be around the angel and watch him work. He could see that Cas truly enjoyed what he was doing, and it made losing his office worth the trouble. Sometimes, Dean would come into the workroom with a book, kick up his feet, and they’d both relax in comfortable silence. Other times, they’d talk each other's ears off and neither would get much done. It was nice, and as time passed, he came to look forward to getting off of work so he could go home and hang out with Castiel.

With a steady hand and an eye for color, Cas was creating some truly amazing soaps. His favorite, though, was a bee themed bar that had yellow and black stripes running throughout, and the frosting-like piped top that Cas loved so much.

“It's awesome,” Dean told him when the angel called him over to look. Cas moved his wing so Dean could stand by his side, and then relaxed, letting it close around Dean’s back. Dean knew Cas was only doing it for his own comfort, but he felt warm and safe and he’d miss those moments the most when Cas left him. “These can be your signature soap.”

“A signature soap,” he repeated, testing the idea. “I like that. What do you think of the smell?”

Dean leaned in, smelling the bar that Cas held out for him. “Subtle. I would use it, I guess.”

Cas sighed in relief. “Thank you, Dean. Its milk and honey. Would you like to watch me cut some more? I have another few other blocks to cut.”

“Of course,” Dean answered with a smile. He watched Cas grab a different block of soap and use the device to cut all of the bars at once. He took one bar out of the middle and held it up to Dean for him to inspect. “That’s pretty cool. It’s like the ocean.”

Cas smiled proudly, and although he couldn’t see it, he definitely heard Cas’s wings ruffling with joy. “Exactly. The high top is supposed to represent clouds.”

Dean looked around the room once more and focused on the storage rack. “You have a lot of soap here. Think you’re almost ready to open shop?”

“Yes. I’ve already been looking into open spaces at the market, and found one I liked.” He answered. “Once these are done curing, I’m looking at about four or five dollars a bar for the flat tops and seven or eight dollars for the high. Once I see how these sell, I can consider the possibility of raising the prices. I’ve seen soaps like this sell for $10 dollars a bar.”

Doing the mental math, Dean whistled low. “That’s a lot of money, Cas.”

“If I can sell it, that is.”

Dean scoffed. How could anyone see that handsome face and not buy his soap? “You’ll sell it, Cas. The farmers market won't know what hit them.”

Cas turned to him and smiled warmly. “Thank you, Dean.”

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

In the weeks that followed, he buried himself in his work, accepting so many projects that he was forced to work overtime in an effort to complete them.

After a particularly rough day, Charlie marched herself into his office and shut the door behind her with a bang. “What’s your problem?”

He looked up from the paperwork he had been trying to finish. “Good morning to you, too.”

She glared at him. “You made Becky cry!”

“I didn’t-”

“Don’t try to deny it. I saw her in the bathroom, Dean, and I know it was you.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Did you want anything, or are you just in here to yell at me?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve been on one all week! Becky won't tell me what happened, so you better start talking.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” he growled in warning.

“Yes, you do!”

“You're my employee, Charlie,” Dean reminded her. “Go back to your job.”

“Oh, that’s it? I just work for you?” she asked, her hand on her hip and fire in her eyes. “Need I remind you that I only took this job because I’m your friend? Who was there for you when Sam left for Stanford? Who helped you move half a dozen times? Who changed your pants the time you pissed yourself because you were so drunk you got lost on your way to the toilet in your own house? Who-”

“Ok!” He held up his hands. “Stop, ok? I’m sorry, you’re right.”

She deflated and plopped into the chair opposite Dean. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to fix this. What’s been going on? You haven’t been like this since you and Lisa broke up.”

“I’ve been stressed,” he insisted, “that’s it.”

“Stressed about what?” she probed. “Maybe I can help you? Is it that blue Mustang the customer wants you to drop? Maybe you can talk him out of it…”

It was only a matter of time before she got it out of him, so he decided to bite the bullet and just tell her. “It’s Cas. What else could it be?”

She hummed sympathetically and reached across the desk, wiggling her fingers until he took her hand. “You two still dancing around?”

“There is no ‘dancing around’. Cas is a fucking wizard with all that soap stuff. He’s almost ready to set up a booth at the farmers market, and once he makes enough money, he’s going to leave.”

She pursed her lips. “You need to talk to him, Dean. This is getting ridiculous.”

He snatched his hand back and crossed his arms. “I’m not going to bring it up.”

She glared at him in return. “Then don’t bitch and moan when he wanders off and finds someone else.”

Dean looked at his hands and shrugged. “I want him to be happy, ok? If he… finds someone else, then I’ll be happy for him.”

“Yeah, I believe you.” She crossed her arms. “So if he comes home with some hottie tomorrow and they disappear up into his room and knock boots, you’re going to be fine with that?”

He could barely hear her over the pulse in his ears. “Yes.”

“And when they mate, you’ll be fine?”

He tapped his keyboard and waited for it to come out of sleep. “I need to get back to work, Charlie.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Charlie…” he warned.

She stood up and made her way to the door. “I’m going to go and try to convince Becky you don’t hate her. Do the rest of us a favor and stay in your office.”

Dean watched her slam the door. If it were anyone else, he would have called her right back in and fired her. He didn’t allow his employees to talk to him — or anyone — like that… but she wasn’t just an employee. She was his best friend, and she was right. He put his forehead on the cool wood of the desk and focused on his breathing.

He needed to get Cas out of his head. He needed to stop thinking about the way that Cas’s blue eyes sparkled in amusement, or the way his lips turned up whenever Dean suggested a movie night. He needed to stop thinking of all the little touches they shared, the ones that always felt significant to Dean, but probably meant nothing to Cas. He needed to stop thinking about what it would feel like to run his fingers over Cas’s soft wings, or what it would be like to have them wrapped around him in an embrace. He needed to stop going on walks with the angel when all it did was make him feel guilty for wishing they were dates. 

An hour later, just as Dean was starting to feel more like himself, Becky wandered in to remind him that one of his clients was due in an hour, and they had just sent the car to be detailed prior to pick-up.

He stopped her just as she was beginning to leave.

“Sorry about earlier,” he muttered.

She paused in her exit and turned back to face him. “No need to apologize, Mr. Winchester. It was my fault for misplacing the file.”

He shook his head. “Yes, I do need to apologize. I was an ass.”

She settled into the chair across from him. “Charlie let me know it wasn’t personal.”

“It's definitely not personal,” he agreed. “You’ve been a great assistant, alright?”

She blushed with pleasure. “Thank you, Mr. Winchester. Charlie said you’re in love. I’ve been crossed in love a time or two as well.” She sighed and stared off into space for a moment. “Can I offer you some advice?”

He flushed and decided that Charlie was dead meat, best friend or not. “Sure, Becky. Go ahead.” 

The squeal she let out pierced Dean’s brain like a hot knife. “I think you should write a letter! It's so romantic, don’t you think? I wrote a letter to Chuck Shurley once. It took me all day to finish, and I even sprayed it with a touch of my perfume. He’s a famous author, you know… he’s so talented.” She let out a sigh. “Well, a few weeks after I sent my letter, I got a reply in the mail telling me how much he appreciated me! Isn't that wonderful! He signed it, too. I read it every night before I go to bed.”

Dean was momentarily mesmerized by the amount of crazy she just unloaded on him. “That’s nice.”

“It is, isn’t it?” She leaned forward and grinned widely. “I wrote to him again a few weeks ago, but he hasn’t responded. I’m thinking of sending another one, what do you think?”

“I think you should wait,” he responded, feeling sorry for the poor author. “You said he’s busy, after all.”

She pouted. “You’re right, Mr. Winchester. I’m sure he’ll get back to me as soon as he can. Maybe he’s writing the next book! You know, Mr. Winchester… the main characters remind me of you and your brother. How is Sam, by the way? Is he still dating Gabriel?”

Dean cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, he is.”

Her shoulders drooped and she took a moment to pout. “Well, I better go and make sure that the Continental is getting taken care of. I really think you should write that letter, Mr. Winchester. Let me know what happens, ok?”

He watched as she left his office, and as soon as she turned the corner and was out of sight, he collapsed back onto his chair and buried his face in his hands. He really had to get his emotions under control, especially at work. Dean didn’t want another heart to heart with Charlie, and he definitely didn’t want one from Becky.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Dean carried yet another box to the booth, trying his hardest not to let the sweat from his forehead drip onto the soaps within. The other vendors smiled politely at him and watched him with sympathy as he carted box after box for Cas, while the angel busied himself with organizing his wares. Cas offered to do all of the heavy lifting and let Dean organize everything, but Dean had immediately shot that down. He didn’t have an eye for that kind of stuff, and would likely just dump everything into a pile and tell customers to start digging.

He glanced into the box, eyeing the sweet-smelling soaps, all wrapped in a single brown paper label so the designs would be visible, and pushed down his annoyance. Cas had worked nonstop on the soaps and had busted his ass to perfect his technique. Dean wouldn’t ruin his hard work by sweating all over everything.

Cas was sandwiched between a woman who sold hand-dyed silk scarves and a man who sold bath bombs and other homemade skincare items. He declared himself happily situated and immediately bought a scarf and a small set of shower melts from his neighbors. Dean was polite and engaged in a bit of small talk, but as soon as the last box was unloaded, he started making his exit.

Wiping the last bit of sweat from the back of his neck, Dean turned to Cas with a grin. “So, want me to be back around four to help you pack back up?”

Cas seemed to deflate, his smile gone and his wings drooping so far they touched the floor. “You don’t want to stay?”

He should say no. He _really_ should. He’d be miserable. Oh shit… how could he turn down that face? He’d suffer through a hot as hell day at the farmers market for that damn face. “Sure, I’ll stay. Just wasn’t sure you wanted me too.”

As if everything was suddenly right in the world, Cas perked back up. “Of course I would. I wouldn’t be here without you, Dean.”

He blushed to the tip of his ears. “You’d be fine.”

Cas’s face grew more serious. “No, I don’t think I would.”

Dean couldn’t maintain eye contact any longer and dropped his gaze. “Let's finish setting up. This place opens at eight, right?”

Cas nodded slowly. “In about fifteen minutes.”

“Well, then. Let's get this show on the road.”

The first half-hour passed by slowly, and Dean committed himself to sit on his ass and spending the whole day bored out of his mind. Then, as if the damn had burst, customers started trickling in. Somehow, the word seemed to have gotten around that an attractive angel was selling artisan soaps because, in the span of fifteen minutes, their small booth was surrounded by women. It was pure chaos and both of them were feeling overwhelmed by the sudden demand for attention. Dean had told him that people were going to love his soaps, and now Cas had his proof.

Standing there, squished up against Cas, Dean felt every inch of their cramped eight-by-eight booth space. The poor guy tried his best to keep his wings out of the way, but they were fucking enormous, and even pressed tightly into his back, they were constantly in the way. They tried their best to give each other space, but foot-stomping and wing-hitting were inevitable. He’d be picking feathers out of his clothes for weeks.

Before the farmers market was even halfway over, their stock was already dwindling. Apparently, Dean and Cas were better salesmen than he would have thought. Dean could flirt at the drop of a hat, but Cas was clearly the favorite. It was his scowl, Dean realized not too long into the day. Women ate that shit up. Even Dean had to admit that Cas’s pinched brows were adorable. It just made you want to kiss the expression off of his cute little face.

The last soap flew off the shelf two hours before the farmers market was officially over, and the pouch Dean wore on his hip was overflowing with money. Cas’s cash box was similarly full. Once the last customer wandered away, Dean let himself collapse on the floor, using his forearm as a pillow against the asphalt as he stared at the canopy above them. With a thoughtful look, Cas tucked the cash box into his side and joined him on the floor, one wing spread, and the one closest to Dean tucked awkwardly under Cas’s body.

“Maybe if we hide down here, they’ll all go away,” Dean suggested breathlessly.

“This isn’t very comfortable, Dean.”

He chuckled at Cas. “Maybe if your wings weren’t so big…”

Cas scowled at him. “Your laughter isn’t helping.”

“If you spread it out and I lay on it, would it hurt you?”

Cas stared at him, indecision warring on his face. “It shouldn’t. I’ve never had anyone lie on my wing before.”

Shit. Had he messed up? Did Dean just offend some weird angel rule about wings? Dean had to clear his throat before he was able to speak again. “First time for everything.”

With a shrug, Cas gestured for him to sit up so he could adjust himself. Once his wing was splayed out, Dean slowly lowered himself until shoulders and head were on the wing. He had thought it would be boney and uncomfortable, but the feathers were as puffy and soft as his own bed. Cas seemed to be just as comfortable. “Yes, this is nice…”

“Good. Sorry about the dirt, though. You’ll have to get Gabe to clean them for you.”

Cas sighed. “Yes, I’m sure Gabe would be willing. He’s very busy, unfortunately, so it might be a few days until he is able.”

“I wish I could do it for you,” Dean told him, not even thinking of the implications.

Cas locked eyes with Dean. “I wish you could do it for me as well, Dean…”

Dean looked away and concentrated on listening to the crowd bustle around them. He probably just wanted a more convenient wing groomer, not Dean specifically. Cas didn’t see him like that. “Yeah, well… I can’t.”

Cas didn’t reply to that and looked away to stare at the canopy above them.

Dean thought a subject change was in order. “I can have Charlie set you up an Instagram or something. You can use it to post pictures of the soaps your working on, that way people can get excited. You don’t even have to sell them online, or anything. I think people will just want to see what you’re up to.”

Cas pursed his lips. “I don’t want to impose.”

Dean laughed. “Trust me, Charlie would love to help.”

Cas hummed his agreement. “I shall ask, then.”

Dean had a brief panic imagining Cas strolling into the shop and talking to Charlie without him there. Who knew what kind of weird shit she’d tell him? For all he knew, she’d tell him about Dean’s pathetic crush and ruin everything. No, he couldn’t let that happen. “Cool, I’ll let Charlie know when I see her on Monday.”

“Thank you.” He let out a sigh. “I think we had a successful day.”

Dean scoffed. “Ya think? We killed it, buddy.”

Dean saw Cas’s smile from the corner of his eye. “I’m going to have to make a lot more soap.”

“The next one is in a week, right?” Dean asked, already picturing how many soaps Cas was currently curing in the workroom. “You’ll be fine.”

“I think you’re right. You did very well, Dean. Thank you for all your help.”

Dean smiled awkwardly through his blush. “What are friends for, right?”

Cas nodded slowly. “Yes. Friends. I suppose we should get up and pack. No sense in remaining now that we’ve sold everything.”

Dean took the hint and sat up, freeing Cas’s wing. He was beginning to get the feeling that something had happened… that he had fucked things up, but he had no clue what. Clamoring to his feet, he began folding the tablecloth and handed it to Cas. “Sure. Let's go home.”

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Unsurprisingly, Claire was in his kitchen when he got home from work later that week. He grumbled out a welcome and went straight for the 6pack of beers in his fridge. The holiday season was a busy time for his business, and his lower back was feeling it. It almost made him miss the office work…almost.

“I’m making grilled cheese.” She informed him in lieu of a hello. “Want one?”

He reached into his cabinets and pulled out his bottle opened before popping off the cap and taking a big swallow of the hoppy liquid. “Fuck, yeah. Did you use the gruyere?”

She gave him a look. “What kind of stupid question is that? Of _course,_ I used gruyere.”

Dean smiled at her attitude and leaned against the counter. “What’s go you in such a good mood?”

Claire huffed. “I finally heard back from the hospital. I got the job.”

He pumped his fist in the air and scooped her up for a tight hug. “Hell yeah! I told you you’d get it!”

She struggled against his chest until he finally released her. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…they want me to start next week. I told Kaia, and we’re thinking of getting a studio apartment together. Between us, we should be able to afford rent.”

“That sounds awesome.”

“It’ll take a few months to save up the deposit and get some money in the bank, but…”

“Well, you’re always welcome here…even after you get yourself a place. I don’t care if it’s just to do laundry or to eat my food, you better not be a stranger.”

She cleared her throat and went back to the pan, flipping the sandwich. “Thanks.”

“I’d offer you a beer, but you’re only thirteen, so…”

She huffed. “I’m seventeen.”

“Same thing.” He downed the rest of his beer and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin. “You staying the night?”

She shrugged. “Was thinking of staying with Kaia.”

“For fuck’s sake…” he rubbed his hand through his hair. “Tell her to get her ass over here, too. It's too cold for you two to be sleeping in her car.”

“There’s not enough room up there for two, Dean.”

“Like hell, there isn’t.” He stood and walked to the door leading to his garage. “I have a blow-up mattress in here somewhere.”

She pursed her lips. “You’ve been having me sleep on the couch and you had an air mattress this whole time?”

He smirked and walked down the steps, out of sight from the annoyed teenager. “Yeah, because you’re a brat. I actually _like_ Kaia.”

When he returned with the air mattress, there was a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for him on the counter.

“So…” Claire began, watching him as he dug into the meal. “Where’s Cas?”

“He and Sammy are on a lunch date.”

She nodded, her eyes narrowed. “It must be nice that they get along so well.”

“Hell, yeah. Sometimes I think Sammy likes him better than me.”

“Cool.”

Something about the way she said ‘cool’ immediately made him suspicious. “Why?”

Claire put her sandwich down and steepled her buttery fingers. “No reason. Just wondering when you two are going to set a date.”

“A date?” he repeated. “For what?”

“For the mating, of course.”

A blush flooded his cheeks. “Woah! We’re not- he’s not-”

“Geeze, calm down…”

“It's not like that!” He finally shouted. “We’re not together!”

She let out a laugh. “Sure, you’re not.”

“We’re not! Why would you think we were?”

Claire shrugged. “Maybe it’s the fact that you bicker like a married couple?”

“We don’t!”

“Or the fact that you two are always cuddling!”

“We don’t cuddle!” He shouted, the blush working its way down his neck.

“I’ve seen you two…Cas is constantly touching you with his wings and you’re always grabbing his shoulder and arm.”

“We’re just being friendly.”

“No, you’re being a couple.”

“No, we’re not!” Dean took a bite of his sandwich and chewed angrily. First Charlie, and now Claire? Couldn’t people just give it a rest? “I don’t know why you think we’re a couple. We’ve never even been on a date…”

“Do I detect a note of longing in your voice?”

“No, you don’t.”

She gave him a satisfied smirk. “I know who can shed some light on the situation.”

“Oh yeah? Who?”

“Gabriel.”

His back went ramrod straight. “You’re not calling Gabe down here.”

“It only takes a little thought, Dean. I could have him down here in an instant, especially if I let him know it’s about Cas.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

“He’d know if Cas was into you, don’t you think?” She stroked her chin in thought. “I wonder if they talk about you when Gabe is grooming him…we could ask, you know.”

“I’m serious, Claire. Don’t call him. Its none of his business, and even if they talk about me, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh, I bet you do.” She took a bite of her grilled cheese and spoke through her bulging cheeks. “I bet you’d love to know what Cas thought about you.”’

“I know what he thinks about me.” He grumbled. “We’re friends, ok?”

“Friends.” She repeated, disbelieving. “You guys have been on a ton of dates.”

“No, we definitely haven’t.”

“Where do you two disappear to then?”

He blushed. “We go on walks.”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

“Well, it's not. I would know if it’s a date. Besides, that’s not how angels do it.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I just know.”

Claire burst into laughter. “I think he’s made his intentions pretty clear, and you’re the only one not seeing it.”

“What do you mean?”

She stopped laughing and just stared in disbelief. “You really don’t see it? That’s really sad, buddy.”

“See what?”

Claire shook her head. “Cas is into you.”

He shook his head. “And I’m telling you he isn’t. Look, this isn’t going anywhere.”

“It sure as hell isn’t.” she agreed with a scowl.

“Well.” He braced his hands on his knees and pushed himself up. “I’m going to go and-”

“Gabe!” Claire yelled, her eyes never leaving Deans. “Get over here!”

Dean’s eyes widened and he briefly considered locking himself in his office, only to remember he didn’t have an office anymore and a locked door would never stop Gabe. “Claire! I told you-”

The sound of feathers in the wind cuts him off. “Claire! Dean-o! If it isn’t my two favorite people!”

“And that’s my cue to leave…” she grabbed her sandwich and headed to the door. “I’ll be back with Kaia tonight.”

Dean glared daggers at her back as she walked through the door. “Traitor.”

“You know, I’ve never actually been in here. Nice house.”

“Thanks.” He grunted. “Listen, we didn’t actually need you. Claire was just being…well, Claire.”

Gave was barely listening to him. Opening the refrigerator, he glanced at its contents and then moved over to the pantry. “You guys have a lot of junk food. What have you been feeding Cassie?”

“That was a hint, Gabe. You can leave now.”

“What happened to all the pies we’ve been giving you? Do you have a second fridge in the garage?”

“No.”

Gabe shook his head at Dean. “When Sammich said you liked pie, I didn’t really think you’d eat all of them. I thought you’d gift them, or something.”

“Cas helped.” He replied, annoyance saturating his voice. In truth, Cas _did_ help…by eating a slice or two every once in a while. Gabe didn’t need to know that he ate a quarter of a pie before bed every night and had the bakery leftovers as a midafternoon snack. “Listen, I’m busy, so can you-”

“I bet Cassie’s room is upstairs, right? Give me a tour.”

“I’m not taking you to Cas’s room.”

“Touchy,” Gabe smirked at him and disappeared with the sound of a flap. A moment later, he was back, hair tousled and an annoyed look on his face. “Cassie warded his room. Why the hell would he ward his room? Did he think I’d snoop? I’m offended.”

Dean smirked. “Good. Respect his privacy.”

Gabriel just pouted at him. “I just want to make sure my brother is doing alright. Is his soap thing working out?

Dean relaxed a fraction. “Yeah. Sold out before the farmers market was over.”

Gabe seemed genuinely happy to hear it. “Great. The sooner he makes some money, the sooner he’ll be out of your hair. I bet you’re excited about that. Hard to bring a date back when you have a roommate, right?”

Dean gulped. “Heh, yeah.”

Gabriel took a seat on one of his barstools and rested his elbows on the table. “I keep telling Cassie he needs to get out more. How else is he going to find someone? But whenever I bring it up, he gets pissy and leaves. Between you and me, I worry about him.”

“You talk to him about finding a mate?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but he gets weird whenever I bring it up. He hasn’t brought anyone over, has he?”

Dean shook his head. “No one.”

“Is he even trying?”

Guilt settled into his stomach. No, he didn’t think Cas was trying to find a mate, and it was all his fault. If Dean hadn’t been so clingy, Cas could have found himself someone by now. “I don’t know.”

“Can you encourage him to get out more?” Gabe turned his hazel eyes to Dean. “Whenever he sees me with Sam, he gets this look in his eyes. I think he’s upset about the whole thing. Who knows, though. He doesn’t want to tell me anything. Can you believe that? He’s my little brother and he won’t talk to me.”

“Sure, I’ll see what I can do.” He cleared his throat and changed the subject. There was no way in hell he was going to encourage Cas to go out and find a mate. As bad as he felt about lying, he’d feel even worse if Cas actually met someone. “How are you and Sammy doing?”

Gabe’s eyes lit up and just like Dean thought, the angel gushed for the next twenty minutes about his little brother, only leaving after getting a frantic prayer for help from his apprentice.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Dean was in the kitchen, already halfway through his sunny side up eggs and toast, when Cas finally made his appearance. 

“Is Claire still here?” He asked, already moving to the cupboard to find a tall glass for his morning iced coffee.

“She left about twenty minutes ago.” He put his hand over his heart and faked a sniffle.“I can’t believe our little girl is all grown up and has a job!”

“Dean...” He smiled fondly at him and moved over to the pantry for his treasured freeze-dried coffee. “I hope she’ll let us know how it went.”

“She better,” he threatened. “I told her if she didn’t, I wasn’t going to make her pancakes anymore.”

“That would be truly devastating…” Cas turned around and gestured to the glass container. “This is almost out.”

Dean smirked. “Can’t say I’m sorry. Want me to make you some of mine?”

Cas eyed his cup before pursing his lips. Silently, he poured the last bit of freeze-dried coffee into a glass cup and then added some cool water from the refrigerator's filter. He stopped when the cup was just over half full and filled it the rest of the way with ice. Compared to Cas’s usual giant glass of iced coffee, this was nothing.

“That it?” Dean inquired.

Cas stared at his tiny cup of coffee and nodded.

Dean couldn’t handle the kicked puppy look he was getting from the angel. “Why don’t you just go to the store and get more? You can pop in and out really quick. It's early, so the line will be short.”

Cas turned to regard him with pinched brows. “I always have my coffee first. My schedule is very important to me.”

“Damnit, Cas,” Dean huffed, “forget your schedule. I’ll buy you a cup. Let's go.”

“I have coffee here,” he grumbled in return.

“Nope. Don’t want to hear it.” He got to his feet and grabbed Cas’s arm. “We’ll walk, ok? It’s only twenty minutes away. That way you get your exercise, and I don’t have to smell that shit.”

Cas placed the glass onto the counter and allowed himself to be dragged to the front door. “We’re going to the usual coffee shop?”

“Yeah. Get your coat.” Dean grabbed his leather jacket from the peg by the door and waited for Cas to do the same. Once Cas had shrugged into his tan trench coat, he opened the door and gestured for Cas to go first. “I’ll get you that spiced chai you like so much.”

Cas smiled widely at him. “That sounds wonderful.”

Dean turned and locked the door to hide his pleased blush. “Good. Let's get the hell out of here.”

They started down the sidewalk in silence, already very used to the path they were taking. Dean would have been happy to drive, but Cas loved to walk and talk about the nature that surrounded them. Dean rolled his eyes and tried to look annoyed when Cas would stop him to show him a particular flower, or point out a certain butterfly, but he secretly loved it. Dean wasn’t sure how successful he was in hiding that fact.

It was only ten minutes into their walk when Cas suddenly stopped.

Dean paused and turned to find Cas crouched in the dirt, regarding something at his feet very seriously. “What is it?” Dean took a few steps towards the angel and crouched in beside him. It took his eyes a few minutes to find the issue. “Oh no… not again.”

The angel looked up and squinted at Dean. “It needs help.”

“Come on,” he whined. “Didn’t you want coffee? We don’t have time for this.”

“I will not abandon this creature.” He gently picked up the tiny bumblebee and held it in his open palm. “Look at it. Without intervention, it will die.”

“Isn't that just nature?” he asked. “Natural selection and all that?”

Cas’s eyes widened in shock. “Need I remind you about the current bee population crisis?”

Dean grimaced at the threat. Cas had lectured him for forty-five minutes straight about pesticides and bee populations earlier that week. He did not need that today. “No, I remember.”

“I will help this bee, Dean.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Cas, it’s already dying.”

Cas turned his eyes to Dean in a glare. “This insect is one of my father’s finest creations, Dean. You may continue without me. I will heal this bee, and make sure it is safe before I join you again.”

Knowing better than to get into an argument with Cas about anything to do with ‘his father's creations’, Dean just nodded. “Fine. I’ll order that chai latte for you, but if all the ice melts before you get there it’ll be your fault...”

Cas was already turning his attention back to the bee, his eyes beginning a soft blue glow that Dean knew meant he was about to heal the tiny thing. “Thank you, Dean. I'll join you momentarily.”

Dean rolled his eyes and resumed the path. He thought briefly about waiting for him, but Cas wouldn’t be far behind, and would likely just flap his wings and teleport instantly to the coffee shop. Besides, he had no idea what Cas meant by “assuring its safety,” and for all he knew, that meant Cas would follow the damn thing back to the hive and give it a kiss goodbye.

Emerging onto the main road, Dean continued on the path for a few more lights and turned in the direction of the coffee shop. They had already been pretty damn close to the cafe, thankfully, and as soon as they finished their coffee, Dean would be free to work on Baby for the rest of the day. She’d started rattling on the way back from work the previous night, and he was 99% sure it would be an easy fix.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and was interrupted by a hand on his arm. Expecting to look up and see Cas right next to him, he smiled. “I would have just waited if-”

The blue of the eyes was all wrong. That was the first thing he noticed. The second thing he noticed was the red hair and familiar dove gray wings.

“Anna,” he breathed out.

“I thought that was you!” she exclaimed happily. Hand still on his forearm, she pulled him into a tight hug and wrapped her slim arms around his waist. “How have you been?”

He awkwardly returned the hug, patting her on the back with his palm before letting his arms drop in the universal sign that the hug was over. Anna did not take the hint and clung to him, her cheek against his and her lips ghosting on the crook of his neck. He shivered at the contact. “I’ve been good.”

Finally, the hug was over, and her hands were at his neck, adjusting his collar. Her fingers brushed lightly over his skin, and he broke out in unpleasant goosebumps at the contact. She had to have known her behavior wasn’t ok, but she didn’t seem to care. He wanted to push her away and tell her to fuck off, but he was in public. The last thing he wanted was a scene, especially one that Cas could walk in on.

“That’s great, Dean. You look amazing!” Anna gave him a delicate pat on his chest. “You’ve even been working out! The years have been good to you!”

He took a step back. “Thanks.”

“Well?” She prompted, throwing her silky curls behind her shoulder and offering him a bright smile. “What have you been up to?”

Dean glanced around but found no way to make a graceful exit. “Still a dirty mechanic.”

She didn’t react other than a widening of her ever-present smile. “Now, now, Dean. You know that’s not true. You’ve always been more than a mechanic.”

He compressed his lips in a bad impression of a smile. “What have you been up to?”

She held her arms out and flared her wings, giving him a little twirl. “I’ve been getting used to life on earth! Human looks good on me, doesn’t it?”

Dean took in her pale blue sundress, strappy nude sandals, and the light makeup on her face. Her wings were groomed and shone under the sun, and her pin-straight hair was curled nicely. Even he had to agree that she looked good. Beautiful, even. Unfortunately, nothing could erase the memory of her breaking up with him the way she did. Instead of replying, he checked his phone for something to do and let the annoyance show on his face. Eventually, she’d get the hint and move on. Hopefully.

“So…” she began. He glanced up just in time to see her fold her arms across her chest in an obvious attempt to show off her breasts. “You want to catch up? We can grab lunch.”

“Can’t. I’m meeting someone for coffee.”

She pouted and reached out to grab onto his arm. In a startling move, she stretched a wing forward and let it run from the top of his shoulder to the tip of his finger, where it lingered softly for a few moments. Instead of enticing him as it had in the past, it just made him shudder and draw away. The wings were all wrong. “Come on. We’re old friends, aren’t we?”

“Friends?” he repeated.

“Of course!” She closed the distance between them and placed her warm hand back on the crook of his neck. “We used to be close, remember?”

He took another step back from her questing fingers. “Yeah. Close.” He huffed. “Listen, it was nice seeing you again, but I gotta go.”

She finally drew back. “You’re not on a date, are you?”

“No,” he grumped. “Bye, Anna.”

He moved to pass her, but her wing flared out and blocked him. He got a face full of feathers and the scent of flowers before he knew what was happening. “Wait. Come on, Dean, it’s been forever since we talked.”

He wiped the feel of feathers from his face in annoyance and turned to glare at her. “What do you want?”

The ice in his eyes seemed to surprise her. “I know we didn’t part on the best terms…”

He snorted but didn’t stop her.

“...but you know me,” she tried again with the sleeve touching, but he crossed his arms before she could. Her arm dropped back to her side, and she continued undeterred. “I didn’t mean any of it. We were good together, weren’t we? We could have a lot of fun. Just like we used to.”

He shook his head at her. “I think you were having a lot more fun than I was, Anna. If my memory is right, you told me you were just messing around. Actually, I think you called it ‘slumming it’.”

Her flirty façade seemed to crack. “Come on, Dean. You know it wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it like?” he pressed.

“Dean…”

He held up his hand for her to stop. “You liked me, Anna. I know you did. So, calling me trash didn’t exactly win you any favors.”

“Well, I just wasn’t ready yet. I am now.”

“You weren’t ready yet?” he repeated incredulously. “The whole reason an angel comes down in the first place is for a mate, so if you weren’t ready you shoulda just stayed in heaven! Just admit it, you thought you could do better than a grease monkey.”

“That’s _not_ what I thought…”

He sent a quick prayer for Cas to hurry his feathered ass up. “I’m leaving. I wish you the best.”

Anna latched onto his arm and pressed her chest into him. “Come on, Dean. We were so good together…”

Dean was about ready to bodily move her away from him, angel strength be damned, but was stopped by a gust of wind and the telltale sound of wings being snapped open. He flinched at the noise and turned to address Cas, but before he could, Anna was ripped away from him, sending Dean lurching for his balance. Confused, he looked over to see what the hell was going on and stopped dead in his tracks.

The Cas who stood in front of him was unfamiliar. Gone was the innocent confusion and shy smiles, and in their place was the personification of thunder. He held Anna’s arm in his hand, her skin bulging between the grip of his fingers and his eyes glowing a bright blue. Teeth bared, he flung her down the sidewalk and moved to stand in front of Dean. He could see nothing behind the angel’s wings, arched high and feathers spread. If it were any angel other than Cas, Dean would be shitting his pants right now, and if the looks of the bystanders were any indication, they were feeling it too.

He moved to his toes and watched from the space between Cas’s neck and wings as she stumbled, her wings the only thing keeping her from falling on her ass. As if on instinct, she bent into a crouch, and mirrored Cas’s aggressive stance. Dean had never seen a fight between angels in person, but if the movies he’d watched were anything to go by, someone was about to get hurt.

“Come on, Cas. Let's go,” he pleaded, hoping to get him the hell out of there. Anna was smaller than him, but angels were strong and he didn’t want anything to happen to Cas. Especially since it was his own damn fault things escalated.

Anna glanced back and forth between him and Cas. “Calm down. I know him. Isn't that right, Dean?”

At the sound of her voice, the tops of his wings tilted towards Anna. He looked ready to pounce, and Dean’s heart rate ratcheted higher. “Cas,” he tried again.

“Anael,” Cas growled as if he hadn’t heard Dean.

She stared at him, clearly not recognizing the angel before her. “And you are?”

“You’ve forgotten me already?” he asked her. “I’m Castiel.”

She scoffed. “Oh yes. Gabriel’s little shadow. Got tired of being ignored in heaven?”

“So, you do know me,” he mused. “I’m surprised you were able to take your eyes off of Michael long enough to notice anyone else.”

She frowned at him and stood to her full height, her wings twitching in agitation. “What do you know about me and Michael?”

“I was there to witness it all. I know that you wanted him, and he didn’t want you. He’s always had his eye on another, and you couldn’t handle it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she growled.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I know you came to earth in an attempt to make him jealous. You wanted him to follow you down. Your shameful behavior was the talk of the host for months.”

Dean stared at her, wide-eyed. That was the reason she had been a bitch all those years ago? She was trying to make another angel jealous? He could handle it if he wasn’t the right one. Hell, he could handle it if she just wanted to sew her wild oats before settling down with someone...but to be used like that? Somehow, that made everything worse.

“You know nothing, brother.”

“And now you’ve come here to try and entangle yourself with Dean?” he continued. “I will not have it.”

She laughed. “Oh, we’ve been friends for a while. Haven’t we, Dean?”

Dean cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know her. Come on, Cas, let's go. She’s not worth it.”

Cas didn’t move, didn’t even show he heard Dean, though he must have.

Dean took a chance and rested his hand on Cas’s back, right in the space between his wings. “Cas…”

The angel relaxed a fraction. “She was touching you.”

“It’s fine. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Cas retracted his wings and turned to face Dean, eyes still tight with anger. “You would like to leave?”

He sighed in relief. “Yeah, Cas. Let's go home.”

The softness in his voice must have given him away because Anna went from looking angry to smug in a split second. “Oh, this is rich. You’ve moved on?”

“It’s none of your damn business,” he shot back at her. “Come on, Cas.”

Anna let out a humorless laugh. “So you went and found yourself an angel with bigger wings, didn’t you? You were always a slut for mine, Dean. Did you forget that? Don’t you remember how you used to love touching them?”

With a shout of anger, Castiel shot forward, using his wings to propel himself towards her with speed Dean had never seen from the normally sedate angel. She dug her heels into the ground and met him, bracing herself for impact. There was a flurry of wings and feathers fell to the ground, but they were moving so fast that Dean couldn't tell who was beating who. He heard the impact of fists against skin and grunts of pain, so he scrambled back along with most of the bystanders, some choosing to run in the opposite direction. The grappling lasted a few moments before Cas was able to grip her by her wings and throw her aside like she weighed nothing.

Anna rolled to her feet and flew towards him again, bloodlust in her eyes. Cas took off with a powerful flap of his wings and met her in the middle. They took to the air, wings pushing them higher and higher into the sky. He could see them clearly now, with Anna kicking and hitting, and Cas blocking her blows as soon as they came. She was sloppy and uncoordinated, while Cas looked as if she were nothing more than a toddler throwing a tantrum. Dean was reminded of his words from all those months ago: Cas was a soldier. He’s led battles. She probably _was _nothing to him.

With a move too fast for Dean to track, he spun her back to him and her wings were pinned. She screamed and struggled, but she couldn’t move beyond a few pathetic attempts at an elbow to his gut. Grabbing her at the base of her wings and pinching the feathered limbs together, he descended to the ground and pressed her to the sidewalk, her face smushed in the concrete. “Yield.”

“He’s not worth it.” she spat, struggling against his hold. “Let me go, brother.”

Dean took a step forward, readying himself to intervene if he needed to. As much as he hated Anna, he didn’t want Cas to hurt her _too _badly. “Come on, let’s go.”

Cas ignored him. “Yield, Anael.”

“You’d attack one of your kind for someone like him?” She dug her palms into the ground, pushing herself up with all her might, but Cas was too strong for her. “For a human like _him_?”

Much to Dean’s surprise, Cas released her. Sighing in relief, he took a step forward to grab Cas so they could get the hell out of there but was stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of metal glinting in the sunlight. Cas pointed his blade at her. “Draw your weapon.”

Immediately, Anna scrambled to her feet, and backed away, putting space between her and the armed angel. “Put that away!”

“Draw your weapon,” he repeated. “I will fight for him.”

“Are you crazy?” She yelled, her eyes wide as saucers. “That will kill one of us!”

“I’ve flown through the depths of hell, leading a garrison through fire and brimstone in the defense of the gate. I’ve fought demons and monsters so vile my feathers have singed from their mere presence. The only one who will die in this situation is you.”

At his continued approach, she dropped to her knee and let her wings fall to her sides, the tops dropped so low her feathers pooled on the concrete, leaving the undersides displayed in submission. “Please. I yield...I’ll leave.”

“Disarm,” he demanded.

Dean stared at Anna as she hesitated, confused. “She doesn’t have anything.”

Not paying Dean any attention, he took another step towards the cowering angel. “Now.”

Keeping her eyes to the ground, a blade materialized in her grip. Moving slowly, and projecting her movements, she placed it in front of her and shoved it, sending it rolling to Cas.

“Now leave,” he commanded. “If I see you again, you will not be let off so lightly.”

“I hope he’s worth it, brother.” And with those parting words, she was gone with a beat of her wings.

Dean let out the breath he had been holding and watched numbly as Castiel picked up the discarded blade and placed it carefully in his coat pocket. Cas shook the tension out of his wings and turned to face Dean, his own blade still in his hand. As if sensing Dean’s stare, he shoved it back up his sleeve and then approached him.

Cas put a tentative hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Did she do anything to you?”

He gave Cas a shaky smile. “No, she just touched me a few times. God, she wouldn’t take the hint.”

Cas’s nostrils flared in anger. “Where did she touch you?”

“Uh…Right here,” he gestured to his neck, “and she hugged me.”

Cas stepped forward and ghosted his fingers over Dean’s neck, exactly where Anna had been so insistent in touching him. “Like this?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied breathlessly.

“She scented you,” he growled, his hands gripping Dean’s shoulders. Cas leaned forward and put his face right next to Dean’s. “I can smell her on you.”

“She what?”

“She marked you…” In the next second, Cas’s face was pressed against his skin. “I’m so sorry, Dean. I can't help it.” he ran his nose across Dean's neck and stopped to press his face into Dean’s shoulder. “I need to…”

“Cas,” he whispered, “what are you-”

Cas let out a breathless little moan. “It’s instinct, Dean. I can’t stop…”

Dean stood there frozen, hardly able to believe what was going on. Abruptly, Dean heard a rustling noise and everything went black. He blinked his eyes a few times and it took him a moment to realize he was in a cocoon of wings, warm and smelling of pine. Dean tentatively looped his arms around Cas’s waist, resting his hands right under the joint of Cas’s wings.

“I’m so sorry,” Cas whispered into his neck. “I know it’s strange, but I can’t have you smelling like her. Instinct is forcing me to cover her scent with mine.”

“Anything you need,” he murmured, not really knowing what he was allowing. He was warm and fuzzy, and Cas was holding him exactly like he always wanted.

“I know you don’t want this… or me…” Cas groaned and shuffled even closer, pressing his body flush against Dean’s. “Sorry.”

“It's fine…” Dean nuzzled him back. Things were more than fine. “This is-” Dean froze and frowned to himself. “Wait. Did you say I don’t want you?”

Cas drew back, but the cocoon of his feathers was too dark for Dean to see the angel's expression. “Yes, and I apologize. Smelling her on you is having a negative effect on me. I’m sure once the adrenaline is gone from my system, I’ll be able to better control my instincts.”

“I don’t- Why do you think…” he shook his head clear and took a step back, breaking the wall of feathers. Light streamed between them and suddenly, Cas’s wings were tucked to his back and the badass angel of five minutes prior was back to Cas, an angel who liked soaps and nature documentaries. “What do you mean? You’re the one who doesn’t want me!”

Cas just stared at him. “How could you think that?”

Dean shrugged. “How about the fact you never told me you like me?”

“You never asked.”

Dean gaped at him. “What?”

“If you had asked, I would have told you.”

“Then why-” Dean groaned and grabbed Cas by his arm. “I can't have this conversation right here. Let's go before the cops show up.”

Cas dragged his feet but allowed Dean to pull him forward a few steps. “You wish to return home?”

“Yeah,” Dean confirmed. “We need to talk about-”

He was interrupted by the sound of wings. A strange squeezing feeling came over him, almost as if he went too deep in the pool, and then suddenly, Dean was in his living room.

“-a few things…” he glanced around in confusion. “Did you just…?”

“I brought us home.”

He ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. “We’re going to have to talk about that later…”

“I apologize. Next time, I’ll warn you ahead of time.”

“No, I don’t want you to do that at all.” Dean let out a groan and collapsed onto the couch. “Come over here, man.”

Cas joined him on the couch, leaving a respectable distance between them.

Dean waited for the angel to say something, but Cas just sat there, wings pressed tightly into his back, his hands fidgeting nervously. “So? Want to tell me what the hell just happened?”

He deflated. “I apologize again for touching you like that. I understand if-”

“No. Not that,” he interrupted, “although we’ll get to that soon… I wanted to know what the hell happened with Anna?”

Cas seemed to sigh in relief. “I was just returning the bee to its hive when I heard you calling. It sounded urgent, so I thought it best to go to your side immediately. When I arrived and saw Anael holding you when you were so obviously uncomfortable, I saw it fit to intervene.”

Dean scoffed. “Intervene? Cas… you threw her off of me.”

“Yes, and at least in that, I am not ashamed. Anael was not respected in heaven, Dean. She was known for behaving shamelessly towards the Archangel Michael.”

“What’d she do?” he asked, curiously. He heard Cas mention the archangel briefly, but he hadn’t gone into detail.

“She would follow Michael around, displaying herself in an obvious attempt to seduce Michael. It was an obsession. No other angels could even approach him without her interfering. It didn’t take long for him to reject her outright. He had his eye on another angel at the time.” He looked Dean in the eye. “You must understand, if an angel is rejected, they are expected to desist any courting behaviors. Anael did not.”

Dean shook his head, amazed and overwhelmed by all of the information. “Anna kept going?”

“Yes. Archangel Raphael was forced to intervene. It was messy.”

“What happened?”

“She threw a tantrum.” His lips tilted up in a smirk. “I was there at the time. She destroyed two of the marble archways and completely demolished a temple. She was sent to seclusion as punishment, and when she was released, she left for earth. The choir sang long into the night in celebration. She declared that Michael would follow her down, but he mated shortly before my own departure from heaven.”

“That’s so fucking…” he let out a peal of laughter at Anna. “I dated her pretty soon after she came to earth.”

He frowned. “I gathered as much from her comments.”

Dean groaned, but couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “We went out for two months before she ended things. Called me a bunch of shit that I’m not gonna repeat. It fucked me up for a while. Then I met Gabe, and well… you know how he is.”

The menace was back in his eyes. “What did she say to you?”

Dean clapped him on the shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. None of it was true anyway. You said it yourself. She was only here in the first place to make Michael jealous. I was just collateral damage. Maybe she thought he’d see her with me and come down to get her. I don’t know.”

“You are much more than collateral damage,” Cas replied softly.

Dean withdrew his hand and placed it in his lap, uncomfortable with the way Cas was looking at him while there were still so many things left unsaid. “What did you mean earlier?”

Cas regarded him carefully. “I said many things.”

He blushed at the memory of Cas pressed against him. “Can you explain the scenting?” 

He looked down at his clasped hands before beginning. “Scenting is an important part of the courting ritual. It is a very clear warning for other angels to stay away. What Anna did was wrong, Dean, and what I did was worse. I am deeply sorry for marking you with my scent. Now that the adrenaline is gone, I feel only shame. No angel should mark another without their explicit consent.”

“Have you done it before, Cas?” Dean asked. “To me, I mean.”

“No!” he practically shouted. “I would never do that without your permission.”

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this whole scenting thing? Gabe never mentioned it before.”

“It’s a very private matter and something that is done only between couples. It’s a mark of intent, and warns other angels to stay away.”

He shook his head in confusion. “None of this makes any sense.”

“I understand, and again… I am very sorry. I shouldn’t have scented you.”

“Honestly? I don’t give a shit about that, Cas.” He admitted. The scenting thing was a little weird, but if Cas needed to do it, then he supposed he was alright with it. Besides, the idea that Cas was marking Dean as his was enough to give him the hope he’d been denying himself. Instinct or not, Cas wouldn’t have marked him if he wasn’t interested. “What I don’t get is why you said that I didn’t want you.”

Cas dropped his gaze to his lap. “When I stayed with my brother for a brief time, Sam told me about your previous relationship with an angel and its volatile end. They talked about how you were adamant that you would never date an angel again. When I saw you for the first time I noticed how beautiful and pure your soul was. It's magnificent, Dean. I knew no one could ever compare. It was very difficult to see you everyday… to see your soul light up the room, and know that I couldn’t have you. So seeing Anna touching you…” He trailed off, unable to finish.

Dean stared at him in slack-jawed awe. Things made so much damn sense now. “So, you’re telling me that you knew immediately that you wanted me, but you didn’t do anything about it because you overheard that I didn’t want to date another angel after Anna?”

Cas nodded.

“You weren’t going to say _anything_?”

Cas nodded again. “I didn’t want to make things awkward for you. You've opened your house to me and made me feel at home. I had no reason to believe you were attracted to me in that way.”

Dean stared at him, dumbfounded. “But I make you french toast all the time, and I gave you my office, and we go on those walks together!”

“Yes, you did all of that. Don’t you understand?” his eyes were pleading. “I couldn’t take advantage of your generosity and kindness by pushing my feelings on you.”

“I’m going to murder Sammy…” he mumbled and then turned to Cas. “Trust me… It wouldn’t have been taking any advantage of me.” 

“What does that mean?” Cas asked.

“It means that I've had a huge fucking crush on you ever since you stepped foot through that door. Damnit, Cas.” He groaned in annoyance. “This is fucking… ugh.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Cas asked.

“Gabriel said not to approach an angel. I figured that if you wanted me, you’d let me know! If I knew Sam said all of that, I woulda asked you out that first goddamn night.”

“You would?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

Cas’s expression morphed into one of pleasure. “That makes me happy, Dean.”

Dean huffed. “Good. At least one of us is happy…”

He suddenly looked doubtful. “You’re not?”

“I’m fuckin pissed! Charlie and Claire are never going to let this go!”

Cas huffed out a laugh. “I need to meet Charlie.”

“Oh, no you don’t.”

Cas tentatively reached out and placed his hand on Dean’s knee. The warmth seemed to radiate out from the touch. “I’d love to meet your friends.”

Still, despite all that Cas was telling him, Dean had his doubts. “Are you sure about this, Cas? I’m not exactly the best option out there.”

“I will spend every second of my time with you proving you wrong.” 

“Shit...” Dean placed his hand on top of Cas’s and squeezed. “You don’t want anyone else? Are you sure?”

Cas nodded solemnly. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was wholly uninterested in finding any other mate. We have a profound bond, Dean.”

Dean gulped. “No one? Not in the entire time you've been here?”

“Of course not,” he confirmed. “None of them were you.”

“Not even Alfie?” Dean prodded.

“I’ve known Samandriel for a millennia, Dean. He is my brother, and nothing more. You’re the one I want.”

“You’re not just saying that because I smell like you?” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“No. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you.”

Dean let out an embarrassing noise and leaned into Cas’s space. With shaking hands, he grabbed the angel’s shoulders and pulled Cas towards him. The angel reacted almost immediately and reached for the front of Dean’s shirt, his hands clenched hard enough Dean was sure he’d never get rid of the wrinkle. “Can I kiss you, Cas?”

He nodded slowly and moved close enough that Dean could feel his breath against his lips. “Yes.”

Pausing only for a moment, just in case Cas changed his mind, Dean leaned in and pressed his lips to the angels. It wasn’t anything like Dean thought it would be, because it was awkward at best. Dean couldn't stop himself from smiling and letting out little huffs of laughter into Cas’s lips because he’s too goddamn giddy to do much else.

Wings surrounded his shoulders and brushed his arm as Cas enveloped him in his warm feathers. He let out a moan at the feeling of thousands of them brushing over his shirt, the back of his neck, and down his bare arms. The heat from Cas’s wings radiated through his entire body and he pulled Cas even closer to get more. Taking the hint, Cas pressed into him, angling his body so that their shoulders were pressed together. Those gorgeous black wings seemed to be doing everything in their power to press him even closer. Despite the awkward way their lips were slotting together, and the seams in his shirt he could hear tearing, it was still the best kiss he’d ever had in his entire life.

He pulled away briefly and repositioned Cas, letting the angel shift even closer, and oh… suddenly the angle was perfect. Cas’s slick lips went right back to their exploring, parting and then meeting, and parting again until Dean was sure he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen and they were barely just beginning.

Reaching out, Dean let his fingers trail through the feathers near Cas’s shoulder, eliciting a shiver from the angel. Encouraged, he pressed harder and tangled his fingers in the warm feathers near the base of his wing. This time, instead of a shiver, Cas jerked violently. 

Dean broke away from the kiss with a groan. “Shit. Was that ok? I didn’t even fucking ask first.”

Cas gripped him by the hair on the back of his head and moved to straddle Dean’s thighs. “I didn’t say to stop.”

When their lips met again, Dean deepened the kiss. He grasped Cas’s thighs and held on tight as Cas curled his tongue against Dean’s and tightened his grip on Dean’s hair.

“Cas,” Dean moaned, his words garbled by Cas’s lips on his. The angel hummed in response and continued kissing Dean within an inch of his life. Clearly, the angel was a fast learner, because Dean had never had a first kiss like _this_.

Dean had to pull away to catch his breath. “God, Cas. I didn’t think…”

Cas licked his spit slick lips. “Tell me what you want.”

Dean groaned and let his eyes slip shut. He wanted a lot of things. He wanted Cas to ride his cock using nothing but the power of his wings to lift him. He wanted Cas in his mouth and the taste of his cum as it poured down his throat. He wanted Cas to fuck him long and rough, hard enough to bruise his ass. He wanted Cas to sit on his face until he was ready to pass out.

But more importantly, he wanted to run his fingers through Cas’s feathers as they cuddled in bed. He wanted to rest his head on Cas’s lap while they watched a movie. He wanted to hold his hand as they went on one of their walks. He wanted Cas to kiss him awake in the morning.

He went with the most pressing. “Can I touch your wings?”

Cas huffed. “You are touching them now.”

“No…” Dean pulled away. “Can I really touch them?”

Cas climbed out of Dean’s lap, trailing his feathers along Dean’s skin as he went, and turned his back at him, letting Dean get unobstructed access to his wings. He reached out to touch but stopped when he realized that Cas was undoing his shirt. He began with the buttons on the front, undoing them without fuss, and then reached back to open the flap that would allow him to remove his shirt without mussing his wings. The shirt was pulled off easily after that, and Dean was treated to the sight of Cas’s broad shoulders and muscular back. He frantically went to work on his own shirt, unbuttoning the front just so he could feel Cas’s feathers on his skin.

Dean immediately went to work and combed his fingers from the arch of the wing all the way down to where the wing attached to Cas’s back. He grabbed the joint and dug his fingers into the muscle. Like jelly, Cas slumped forward and sighed. Smiling, he ran his thumb along Cas’s spine, watching in fascination as Cas slumped further under the pressure. Dean suddenly understood why Heavenly Raiment sold so many massage oils. If Cas reacted this way from just a few moments of strong pressure, then he imagined this was a popular pastime between mates. He had a fleeting thought that he should go back to Heavenly Raiment and grab a few different scents, but he set that aside for another day. He was getting way ahead of himself.

Dean shifted closer and let his hands run from the muscles that connected the wings to his back, all the way up to where they peaked. He gave the bend a few moments of attention, and then let his fingers glide back down, combing through the soft feathers. 

Cas moaned low. “That feels incredible.”

Dean smirked and did it again, this time letting his fingers press even harder. “Yeah? You like it when I touch your wings?”

He moaned again in answer. “Don’t stop.”

He didn’t plan to. They were soft and warm and he’d never felt this way when he touched Anna’s. with her it had always been a means to an end, but with Cas…he just wanted to bury himself in them and never leave. “You gonna let me groom your feathers one of these days, Cas?”

Cas nodded absently, mind lost to the pleasure of Dean's touch. “I’m sure this counts as grooming. I would have allowed this long ago if I knew it would feel like this.”

Dean snorted. “Not the same when Gabe does it?”

“No,” he confirmed, letting his head loll to the side. “It's different because-” he groaned again and shook his head. “It's hard to think, Dean.”

He took advantage of Cas’s position and sealed his mouth on Cas’s neck. The angel tensed up briefly, and then tilted his neck further, giving Dean access to even more skin. Emboldened, Dean took a fistful of feathers and pulled. “I didn’t think this would be so hot.”

Cas called out at the dual sensations. “Ah! Dean!”

His fingers continued their exploration, getting to know Cas’s wings inch by inch. Every once in awhile he’d come across a few tangled feathers that he would need to coax apart, and every time he did so, Cas would sigh in relief. It only took Dean ten minutes to realize that the closer he got to the undersides of Cas’s wings, the more Cas would squirm.

Just knowing that Cas took so much pleasure from his wings being massaged got Dean painfully hard. Unable to stop himself, he reached down and fumbled with the closure. At the sound of his zipper, Cas turned and locked his eyes with Dean.

“Is that what you want, Dean?” he asked, reaching back to put his hand atop Dean’s as he started on the button. “Do you want me to touch you there?”

“Fuck, yes,” he breathed out. “Come on, Cas. Touch me.”

Cas got to his feet and pushed his slacks down his hips, leaving him in only a pair of boxer briefs, and knelt in front of the couch. Cas’s face was close enough to Dean’s dick that it took him a second to realize Cas was talking. “-do to you. Take off your pants.”

Dean followed the gruff command and lifted his hips so he could push everything down at once, leaving his weeping cock fully exposed to Cas’s hungry stare. “Come on, Cas… please.”

Eyes glued to the drop of moisture leaking from the slit, Cas bit his lip and reached out to swipe his thumb lightly at the tip, collecting the drop and then bringing the finger to his mouth. He groaned around the taste. “Dean… you taste so good…”

“Cas, please…” He begged. “Touch me.”

Instead of reaching out and gripping Dean cock as he expected, Cas licked his lips and bent over, sealing his lips over the head of Dean’s dick and sucking. He bucked up into Cas’s mouth and let out a surprised moan. “Fuck, yeah.”

Cas worked his mouth down the length and paused when the head bumped the back of his throat. Eyes locked, Cas drew up, applying suction and swirling his tongue around the tip. Maintaining eye contact, he sunk back down. Dean groaned and threw his head back into the arm of the couch, not caring one bit that he might have a bump in the morning. He wanted to watch, but he knew that looking at Cas would only make him go off like a rocket. “So good, Cas. Amazing.”

He felt the exact moment the head of his cock breached the tight muscles of Cas’s throat. He grabbed for Cas’s hair, locking his fingers around the unruly waves, and held on as Cas bobbed his head up and down. He spread his legs wantonly, allowing Cas to settle even further into the space. As if he had been waiting for exactly that, Cas reached up and cupped Dean’s balls and gave them a light tug.

“Fuck! Cas, stop! I’m gonna-” Dean groaned as Cas pulled off and licked at the moisture on his lips. He was going to come embarrassingly fast, and he didn’t want things to end any time soon. “Jesus…”

Cas’s pleased expression turned to a glare. “That’s not my name.”

Dean licked his lips. “Cas…”

“Say it,” he demanded.

Dean gulped. “Castiel.”

Cas groaned and stretched his wings forward, allowing them to brush against Dean’s sensitive skin. He shuddered at the light touches and watched in fascination as Cas brushed the longest feathers over Dean’s nipple. “You will not say another's name again, Dean Winchester. Do you understand me?”

Dean felt a surge of blood go directly to his dick at the command. “Fuck, yeah. I understand.”

Cas gripped Dean’s cock and gave the shaft a light stroke. “I am the one giving you pleasure.”

“Fuck!” He shouted as Cas squeezed hard enough that it was just on the good side of painful. “Come on, Cas. Please!”

He stroked again. “Please, what?”

“I don’t know!” he whined, barely able to speak let alone form a thought. “Suck me off or keep doing that. I don’t fucking care!”

He surged forward and kissed Dean’s jaw before trailing kisses up to his mouth, Cas’s teeth scraping lightly against the stubble on his way. The minute his lips attached to Dean’s, he resumed his rhythmic stroking. Mindless in his pleasure, he could do nothing but grab onto his wings and squeeze in an attempt to ground himself.

Dean had a fleeting thought that he should be doing something, anything, to help Cas reach the finish line. He was just lying there, for god's sake, he should be doing _something_… but then Cas twisted his wrist around the head of his cock, with Dean’s own precum easing the slide, and all thoughts flew out the window.

Dean plunged his fingers into Cas’s wings, gripping the feathers at the arch tightly and tugging hard. Cas threw his head back and let out a groan, grinding his hips into Dean’s thigh. “Dean…” he groaned, low and dirty, “that feels so good.”

He pulled on those same feathers and felt Cas’s head thump against his collarbone. The angel's fingers had gone lax around his cock, but Dean didn’t even care. “Oh, god. Your wings are amazing.”

“Don’t say my father's name,” he ground out through clenched teeth as Dean continued his onslaught. “Oh! Yes, right there!”

“Cas,” Dean whispered, “you’re so fucking beautiful…”

Cas let out a whimper and pushed up to lick his way into Dean’s mouth. He opened to Cas immediately, letting his tongue stroke Cas’s in an open-mouthed kiss. He pushed his hips up, hoping Cas would resume his stroking, but the angel let him go completely and brought his hand to grip his bicep. “I want to mark you. Make you mine.”

“Oh, God…” he breathed, his mind whirling at the thought.

Cas’s grip tightened and he looked up to glare at Dean. His pupils were blown wide with lust. “Don’t say my father's name.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Sorry. I’m trying, you just feel so…”

“Try harder,” he commanded. As if in punishment, he reached up and pinched Dean’s nipple. He arched into the touch and tightened his grip on Cas’s wings. Dean spared a thought that he might accidentally rip out a handful of feathers, but then Cas let out a whispered “Dean,” and then the thought was gone. He pulled again, and Cas responded by pressing his hips harder into Dean’s, aligning them perfectly.

Dean rolled his hips, letting his dick drag against the fabric covering Cas’s cock. He made a small noise of frustration, and Cas was able to translate it instantly. “Shall I remove all barriers?”

Dean huffed out a laugh at Cas’s choice of words and unclenched his fingers from Cas’s feathers. “Take ‘em off, baby.”

Cas brought himself to his knees and removed the fabric, exposing his cock to Dean’s view. It was long, maybe half an inch longer than Dean’s, and thick. Oh shit, he was thick. He wanted to reach out and touch, to test the girth with his hands, but Cas was leaning in and boxing Dean in with his arms. Their lips met again in a wet slide, and Dean craned his neck to press harder into Cas’s kiss-swollen lips. 

“Fuck, you look good,” he whispered into Cas’s mouth, only barely intelligible, and grabbed Cas’s hips. “Come here.”

Cas was back on him immediately, realigning himself with Dean’s leaking member, and went right back to mouthing along Dean’s neck. The warmth of Cas against him had Dean nearly in tears with how good it felt, and he instantly went back to rutting against him. Oh god, he wanted Cas inside him. He wanted Cas to open him up and fuck him so hard he’d feel it for days. He wanted Cas to pull his hair and fuck his face. He wanted everything.

Dean could feel the end coming in the tightness of his body. Fingers making their way back up and over the joint of Cas’s wing, he found a perfect handhold and squeezed, making Cas thrust against Dean so hard Dean thought they were going to break the couch. He pushed back, silently urging Cas to do it again, and he obliged, pushing down and up, dragging his length along Dean’s.

The combination of the pressure and the teeth trying to leave a permanent mark on Dean’s shoulder was becoming too much for Dean. His stomach tightened and his hands clenched and he was so close — “Jesus fucking Christ!”

Cas’s head popped up and his wings were torn away from Dean, only to be arched high over his head. The thunder from earlier was back in his eyes, and it only took him a second to realize he’d just fucked up.

Dean watched in awe as Cas forced his wings down with as much power as he could muster in the limited space of his living room, sending a gust of air far enough that his kitchen cabinets rattled on their hinges. Distantly, he heard a thud, and the room grew dim. Cas’s wings snapped back up and his primary feathers spread, forcing themselves apart in an aggressive pose.

And then Dean lost it. He slapped his hand over his mouth to muffle the laughter, but it was no use. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. This isn’t funny, I swear!”

Cas leaned back on his heels and folded his arms. “Dean…”

“Just give me a second, hold on.” Dean forced himself to breathe through the chuckles, but it was a few minutes before he was able to wipe the moisture from his eyes and look at Cas again. The angel’s arms were folded across his tanned chest, but it was the adorable pout that finally turned the laughter into a fond grin. “Come here, Cas. I’m sorry…”

“No,” he huffed, and for a moment he was afraid that Cas was going to get up, but he remained perched on his heels. “That wasn’t funny.”

Dean refrained from letting Cas know that it definitely was funny. “I know, babe. I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”

“It was bad enough that you were calling out my father’s name…”

“Cas…” he groaned in annoyance. “I’ll try harder, I promise. It just feels so fucking good!”

“Don’t do it again.”

“I won't, and even if I slip, just know that it's you who's the one making me lose my goddamn mind over here. It's your dick I want in my mouth. It’s your fingers I want in my ass right now. It's you I want to ride like a fucking bull.” Cas was palming at his own dick, apparently recovered from the minor hiccup. Dean bit his lip and continued. “You’re the one I want to tie me up and push me around. It's you who I want to fold me up like a goddamn pretzel and fuck me within an inch of my life. It's you…” he paused to catch his breath and clear his head of all the images his brain was conjuring. “I’ve been in love with all this time.”

Cas stared down at him for a moment, shocked at Dean’s confession. “You’re in love with me?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Of course I am, you idiot.”

Cas huffed, but couldn’t stop the smile from curving his lips. “I love you too.”

“Good, now get your ass back down here.”

“Are you sure? We could just-”

Dean cut him off. “Hurry, before I develop a complex.”

Cas cupped Dean’s dick, miraculously still half-hard after the laughing fit and subsequent love confession. “What do you need from me?”

“You’re so goddamn got all you gotta do is blink at me and I’ll be ready to go…” he gripped Cas’s ass and squeezed. “Now let me show you what I like.”

“Show me.”

Dean wiggled his hips, and once they were lined up, he took Cas’s hand and guided it to their cocks, letting Cas apply as much pressure and speed as he wished. “Yeah, like that. Nice and tight.”

Cas sighed in relief at the feeling. “This feels amazing.”

Dean smirked. “Oh yeah? How about if I do this?” Dean ran his fingers lightly through the undersides of Cas’s wings a few times, just to get him used to the feeling, but as soon as he sighed in pleasure, Dean gripped and pulled. Cas locked up instantly, his back arching beautifully.

“Harder, Dean,” he begged, rolling his hips into their fists.

Dean was helpless to resist Cas’s command. He gripped Cas’s feathers harder, pulling his wings in to blanket his sides. The feel of the soft feathers against his ribs, Cas panting breathlessly in his ear, and his cock pressed tightly against another dick, he was spiraling towards the end quickly. He wanted to tell Cas to stop or slow down, but when he pried his eyes back open, they locked with Cas’s and he lost his breath. Cas’s hair hung limp around his flushed face and his lips were parted as he panted above Dean. 

He blanketed himself with Cas’s feathers and threw his head back as Cas moved against him, his legs locking and stomach tensing as his orgasm neared. “Cas! I’m-”

“Come for me, Dean,” Cas commanded.

“Cas, Cas. Cas! Ah, Fuck!” Cum flooded into Cas’s fist, coating them both and dripping onto his stomach as Cas continued to stroke them through Dean’s orgasm.

“Dean!” Cas quickened his strokes to the point that Dean was squirming and crying out from oversensitivity.

Dean could feel it in Cas’s wings as the angel's orgasm neared. They fluttered and stiffened against his grasp, pulling away and then surging back to touch Dean’s sweat-damp skin. He felt it the moment Cas’s body locked up. His thighs tightened around Dean’s knees and his head dropped forward. His wings stiffened and sprung from his grip, snapping out and tensing as he spilled onto Dean’s stomach. Cas went boneless all at once, his body collapsing onto Dean’s the same moment that his wings fell to surround them.

They panted into each other's shoulders, uncaring of the sticky mess sandwiched between their bodies.

“Cas…” Dean began once he was finally able to catch his breath. “Come on, you gotta get up before you get superglued to me.”

“I’ll live with the possibility.”

Dean smiled and shook his head. “We have to clean up.”

“Leave it,” he grumbled and snuggled further into Dean’s chest. “I want you to smell like me.”

“Is this what you’re going to be like after sex?” he asked, unable to stop smiling at Cas’s behavior. “Territorial and lazy?”

Cas grunted in response.

“You the kind to fall asleep after sex?”

“Do you always talk this much after sex?” Cas shot back. “I don’t sleep, Dean. I’m just relaxed.”

Dean resumed the light stroking of Cas’s wings. “Cas… if you get up, we can move this to the bedroom. Wouldn’t it be better in my bed?”

Cas finally lifted his head and squinted at Dean. “It would be better if you weren’t badgering me to get up.”

Dean laughed happily. “Don’t get snappy. I just gave you the best orgasm of your life.”

Cas looked unimpressed, but slowly pushed himself to his feet anyway. “You’ve just given me the only orgasm I’ve ever had.”

“Semantics.”

To Dean’s complete surprise, Cas bent over and scooped Dean up bridal style. He flailed for a moment and latched himself around Cas’s neck, squeezing as hard as he pleased because he knew Cas wouldn’t mind. Once he was sure Cas wasn’t going to drop him, he watched as Cas carried him to his bedroom like Dean didn’t weigh a thing. Renewed arousal pooled in his stomach, and he cursed the fact that he wasn’t a young man anymore. “Why is this so hot?” he wondered aloud.

Cas pushed Dean’s door open and placed him on the memory foam mattress. “You like to be manhandled.”

Dean blushed. “No, I don’t.”

Cas looked at him for a moment, his eyebrow cocked in a way that clearly stated he wasn’t falling for Dean’s shit before he went into Dean’s ensuite for a few moments and returned with a damp hand towel. After cleaning them both, he arched an eyebrow at Dean. “Don’t lie to me, Dean. You mentioned yourself that you wished I would tie you up and push you around.”

“Oh yeah,” he mumbled. “Well, then… get your ass down here. I’m the big spoon.”

Cas smiled. “I would be surprised if you possessed the arm span required to enfold both me and my wings.”

“Good point,” he conceded. “Fine, you can be the big spoon. Just get down here, I want to take a nap.”

“I will keep you safe.” Cas crawled onto the bed and settled himself against Dean’s back. A few moments of restless shifting later, Cas cleared his throat. “Would you mind sitting up.”

Dean did as he was asked and watched Cas stretch his wing out across the space Dean had been occupying. Eagerly, he laid himself back down, this time onto a soft blanket of feathers. As soon as he had settled, Cas placed his other wing over Dean like a blanket, completely surrounding Dean with dark feathers and the scent of pine. “Oh, shit. You’re never leaving this bed.”

Cas leaned in and kissed the back of Dean’s neck gently. “Get some rest, love.”

Dean flushed at the endearment. “Okay.”

He pulled Cas’s wing under his chin, watching the afternoon light peek through his curtain. “Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?”

“What now?”

Cas tightened his grip around Dean’s middle. “Whatever you want.”

“Were you serious about wanting to mate with me?”

“Of course.”

Dean sighed in relief. “Does that mean we’re dating?”

“We’re more than dating, Dean.”

“Courting?”

Cas squeezed him tighter. “I would like nothing more, but only if you want.”

Dean toyed with a few of his feathers before answering. “I want.”

Cas’s feathers fluffed under his touch. “Then it’s settled.”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “What should we tell our brothers?”

“Nothing.”

Dean smiled and snuggled into his feathers. “We’ll have to tell them eventually. I guess for now we can keep this to ourselves. Otherwise, we won't hear the end of it…”

“As you wish.”

Dean made a mental note to add _The Princess Bride_ to Cas’s movie list. “Will you stay here?”

“I wouldn’t leave for anything.”

“And tomorrow?” Dean asked. “And the next night?”

“Claire can have my room.”

Dean smiled to himself. “It’ll be nice to have a spare again. Your bed is more comfortable than the couch.”

“And your bed is more comfortable than mine.” He kissed the back of Dean’s head. “Sleep, Dean. I will be here when you wake.”

“Okay,” he whispered in response, and let his body relax completely into Cas’s. His eyes slipped shut and he soon fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t know what his future held, and he had no idea how to properly court an angel, but with Cas pressed into his back, and his warm black wings surrounding his body, he was filled with a sense that everything would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready for the epilogue????

Sam was laughing. Dean had come to him in his time of need, had called Sammy up, invited him out for coffee and pancakes, _paid_ for his meal, and Sammy was _laughing_ at him.

“Fuck this,” Dean muttered and got to his feet. “I knew this was a bad idea. I’m never coming to _you_ for help again…”

He was only able to get a few steps from the table when Sammy used his long moose legs to catch up to him and drag him back to the table. “I’m sorry! It’s just… you’re going to mate an angel? Tell me you don’t see the humor in this…”

“It's not that weird,” he grumbled, slumping back into his wooden chair. Dean tapped the table in front of him and glanced around the patio where they were seated, anything to avoid Sammy’s puppy dog eyes. “We’ve been courting for a while now, and that’s kinda the next step.”

“What’s it been, six or seven months?”

Dean shrugged. “Listen, are you going to help me or not?”

“Don’t get snappy, Dean. Gabe and I only courted for five months, remember? I have nothing against you guys mating this soon. It’s just funny, that’s all. I never thought you’d be asking me these questions.”

“Well, me neither.”

“I can't believe it took Cas almost tearing an angel to shreds for you to get it through your skull that Cas liked you. Gabe told me about those blades, you know. Their made from the angel's own grace, and it’s the only thing that could kill another angel.”

Dean folded his arms across his chest, defensive. “Well, if someone hadn’t told Cas that I hated angels, it wouldn’t have come to that.”

“Dean,” he began, bitch face firmly in place, “angels don’t go around touching people with their wings. I can't believe you didn’t realize sooner. He hugged you with them, for god's sake.”

“I didn’t know that! I thought he was just being friendly!” he cried. “He touched Alfie with them!”

“Yes, but Alfie is like his brother, Gabe too. It’s only close family and partners who are allowed to touch an angel's wings. Why do you think Gabe never touches you with his?”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t know. Never wanted him to, anyway. Tell Gabe to keep his wings to himself.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.”

“Listen,” he began, trying to get back onto the subject, “I just wanted to know about the process.”

“Hold on, I’m just imagining what your past self would think about all of this.” He shook his head. “You’d have a fit.”

Dean finally cracked a smile. His old self would beat the shit out of him if he said he was planning on mating an angel. “Whatever, bitch. You going to help me or not?”

“Ask away, jerk.”

“So…what’s it like?”

“What’s _what_ like? Be specific.”

“What's it like being mated?”

Sam shrugged. “It's not much different than what we were doing before, to be honest, other than the fact that I’m basically married now. Really, the only difference between being with a human and mating an angel is the whole aging thing, and I haven’t been mated for more than a few months, so I can't really speak on that.”

“Is being tied for eternity to someone, I don’t know… weird?”

“I kind of like that part,” he admitted. “Til death do us part seems so short. I mean, what if I get in an accident on my way home tonight and die? I know for a fact that Gabe would come find me in an instant. He’d drop everything on earth for me. Now that we’re mated he’s written up a will, just in case I _do_ die before we retire.”

Even Dean had to admit that sounded kind of nice. “Well, what if it doesn’t work out?”

“It will work out just fine.”

“But what if-”

“Dean,” Sam interrupted. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No! It’s just a big deal.”

“It is.”

“And then there’s that whole mating mark, thing.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Does it hurt?”

Sammy laughed. “No, it didn’t hurt.”

“Well, what did it feel like?”

Sam took a long sip from his paper cup and shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“Well try,” Dean prompted, annoyed with the run around Sammy was giving him. “I want to know what to expect.”

“Well, you know the mating mark is given when…” Sam trailed off nervously.

“Sex, Sammy.” Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother. “We’re both grown-ass adults. You can say it.”

Sam frowned and glanced at the crowd that milled around the entrance of the coffee shop. “Fine. It happens during sex, so things are already really crazy. It’s like taking all of the feelings and sensations, and then multiplying it by ten. You can actually feel the grace going into your body. It’s crazy.”

Dean let out a low whistle. ”Sounds fucking awesome.”

“It is.” He confirmed with a blush. “You get this warming sensation all over your body. It’s really cool.”

“Did the mark hurt at all?”

“Not really. The mark was a little tight for a while, kind of like your skin after a burn. It went away after a few days, and sometimes I forget I even have it.”

Dean sighed in relief. “Cool. Can I see yours?”

Sam looked away. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Dean pouted. “I’ve never gotten the chance to see one up close before. Come on, let me see.”

“No.”

“Sam…”

“No.”

“But, Sammy…”

“I’m not going to show you.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s on my ass!” Sam hissed loudly.

Dean snapped his mouth shut and stared at his brother for a second before bursting into laughter. “What the fuck?”

“Oh, god…” Sam hid his face in his hands. “Shut up.”

“Are you kidding me?” Dean slapped his hand on the table, nearly upending his mug of coffee. “It’s on your ass?”

“Will you shut up?” He groaned in embarrassment and peeked through his fingers. “We’re in public.”

“This is fucking great. Why the hell is it _there_?”

Sam groaned in annoyance. “Why do you think? I was on top, and Gabe was grabbing my ass, so he just-”

“I am _not_ listening to this!” he yelled, clapping his hands over his ears. “What the fuck, Sammy?”

“You asked!” He reached over and slapped at Dean’s forearm, forcing him to uncover one of his ears. “What happened to us being adults?”

“Well, I didn’t need to hear _that_ much.”

“You’re ridiculous. Listen… you just have to have sex, ok? However you two want to do it, just… you know…” he let out a sigh. “The sex isn’t the most important part. I’m sure Cas told you all about the anointing process…”

Dean scoffed. “He’s been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing. Probably thinks I’m going to get weirded out and change my mind, or something.”

Tight-lipped was a bit of an understatement. Cas had barely told him anything about the whole process. All he knew was that Cas would need to draw some symbols on him and then they’d need to have sex. That much, at least, he was really looking forward to. For how long they’d been together, he’d never once had his dick in Cas’s ass… or vice versa. Cas had wanted to save that for their mating. ‘It would make it more special,’ Cas had told him. Dean, of course, respected that decision. Sex didn’t _have _to mean penetration, and Dean was a huge fan of everything they had been doing. Unfortunately, it just made him nervous as hell that he’d fuck up and ruin the entire mating process. He was far from a virgin, and at this point so was Cas, but he couldn’t help feeling like one.

“Well, are you?”

Dean glared at his brother. “Of course not! Listen, all he told me was that we were going to get naked, he’d draw some symbols on me with his wing oil, and then we’d fuck.”

“Essentially, that’s it. The only other thing you have to do is bathe yourself beforehand. Once you’re clean, you groom Cas’s wings, and then…”

“The actual mating…” Dean sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “So… I gotta take a bath, let him rub oil all over me, and then we have sex. That’s it? Boom, we're done?”

“Boom,” he confirmed.

Dean reached for his own lukewarm coffee. “Were you…”

“Terrified?” Sam supplied. “Yeah, I’d say that’s pretty normal. I almost puked a few times leading up to it. If it were anyone other than Gabe, I would never have done it.”

Dean nodded in understanding. Cas was the only one Dean would ever do something like this for. He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else, human or not. “Are you planning on doing it the human way, too? You know, a ring and a cake, maybe a kid or two?”

“Maybe we’ll get married a little further down the line. I just don’t see the point anymore. Maybe if mom was still around, but she’s not and nothing I could do in a church compares to what we already have. A kid, though? We’ll see.”

“I guess that makes sense… mom would have wanted to see you in a dress, though.”

Sam kicked him under the table. “Asshole.”

“Don’t be a bitch,” he warned, kicking him back. “You woulda looked pretty in white.”

“I don’t know what Cas sees in you.”

“It’s my perky nipples…”

Sam made a noise of disgust. “I don’t need to know about your nipples.”

Dean laughed at his brother and downed the rest of his coffee.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Dean sat on the edge of his bed and checked his phone for the third time in ten minutes. Cas had gone out for the day and was due to be back any second, and all of the waiting was killing him. Apparently, he needed to prepare himself for the mating, but he never told Dean what that actually meant. He was too embarrassed to ask Gabe — although Gabe would probably make something up anyway. Some kind of meditation was his best guess, but for all he knew, Cas was at a strip joint. He snorted at the thought, imagining the scene in his mind.

He was itching to get the show on the road, but that was more from the nervousness than anything else. It all sounded pretty basic to him, but the permanence of it all was giving him anxiety. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was doing the right thing. Cas was it for him. Endgame. There was no one else he would rather be tied to for the rest of his life and beyond. The idea of sharing heaven with Cas after his death sounded perfect.

It was Cas he was worried about. The angel was amazing. Smart, kind, funny, interesting, and absolutely gorgeous… the total package. Dean, on the other hand? He had baggage and enough personality defects to chase away every partner he’d ever had. He felt guilty, honestly, that he was tying Cas to him… like Dean had _tricked_ him into thinking he was good enough for an angel like Cas. It was irrational, he knew. Cas could see his damn soul, for fuck's sake, and if Cas said it was beautiful, then it had to be true.

He flopped onto the mattress and pressed the palms of his hands into his eye sockets. “Shit.”

He was going to fuck everything up and Cas was going to regret choosing him. Dean’s own first time had been an absolute cluster-fuck full of bad foreplay and too little lube. There was no way he was going put Cas through that kind of experience. Thankfully, the more partners Dean had, the more he knew what he needed from a guy. A willing partner, a little teasing, and a finger beforehand if he was feeling frisky. The point was, he didn’t need much if he was really turned on. Cas, though? Dean had no idea what he would need to relax enough for sex. Candles? Soft music? Georgian chanting? Did Dean need to cleanse the room with a smudge stick first? He didn’t know, and t_hat_ was what gave him anxiety.

His train of thought was cut off by the opening and closing of the front door. “Dean? I’m home.”

“Fuck.” He scrambled to his feet and gave the room a once over. The bed was neatly made, the laundry had been washed and folded, and the floor was spotless. Was that good enough? Should he have gotten candles? Shit, it was too late. “I’m in our room!”

Cas stomped loudly up the stairs, and Dean would have smiled at the gesture if he wasn’t so damn nervous. After popping in on Dean in the bathroom, he had banned Cas from teleporting in the house. Since then, Cas tried to make as much noise as possible in order to alert Dean to his presence. It was damn adorable, to be honest. “I’ve returned from my communion with God.”

Dean cocked an eyebrow and opened the door for Cas, who was rounding the stairs and heading his way, a serene smile on his face. “Do I want to know?”

“I don’t know, do you?” he pulled Dean into a tight hug, his wings swinging forward to envelop Dean in their warmth. “It’s a long process of prayer and meditation.”

Dean shook his head and let his hands dip under Cas’s shirt. His hands pressed against the warm skin of Cas lower back, and he let his head rest on Cas’s shoulder. “I definitely don’t want to know. Did ya have fun, at least?”

“I don’t know if I would call it fun,” he replied. “But I am feeling great peace. Perhaps we should do it together, sometime. Meditation has many benefits.”

“How about I just watch.”

Cas huffed and broke the hug, pulling back so he could give Dean a curious once over. “And how are you feeling? Do you feel peace?”

Dean pasted on a smile. “Uh… yeah, sure.”

Cas’s expression was one of sympathy. “We can wait, Dean. We don’t have to do this today.”

Dean’s eyes widened, and panic settled it. “No! I want to do it today. I promise. I just don’t want to fuck anything up. I want it to be good for you.”

Sensing Dean’s alarm, Cas brought his wing forward and nudged Dean’s hand with it. “It will be amazing.”

Dean stroked Cas’s feathers gratefully, and let the calming effect wash over himself. “But what if I hurt you.”

“You won't,” he assured Dean, “it will be perfect.”

He grunted in frustration and pinched a silky feather between his fingers before stroking it back into place. “How do you know?”

“Because it will be with you, Dean.” Cas pulled his wing away gently, and cupped Dean’s face, forcing him to look into his eyes. “_You’re_ perfect.”

Dean let out a noise halfway between a scoff and a whimper. “No, I’m not… you are.”

Cas shook his head, never breaking eye contact. “I am far from perfect, but I think together we might be close.”

Unable to stop himself, Dean surged forward and pressed his lips to Cas’s. He hummed into the kiss and tilted his head so their lips could move together with ease. Dean licked Cas’s bottom lip, hoping Cas would part his lips and let Dean in, but Cas only made a small noise and backed away. “Let’s not get carried away, Dean. If we’re doing this tonight, then there is an order to things.”

Dean nodded and loosened his hands from Cas’s collar. “Oh yeah, we’re doing this. What’s first?”

“The cleansing.”

He forced his nerves down and squeezed Cas’s hand. “Yeah, ok. You want me to go first, or…”

“I would like to bathe you first.”

Cas led him to the ensuite, instructing him to get undressed while he fiddled with the knobs until warm water was filling the bath. Naked, Dean watched as Cas poured a generous amount of Epsom salts into the bath, and swished the water around with his hand. “Salt cleanses,” he explained. “It purifies… Endures.”

Dean stepped into the bath, taking a second to get used to the warm water before sinking to his ass and leaning against the wall of the tub. Cas started immediately and grabbed a bar of soap, his favorite honey and milk scented one, and began lathering it between his palms. He picked up Dean’s arm, stroking his sudsy fingers from his wrist to shoulder, and then back down. Dean smiled at Cas as the angel let go of his hand and grabbed the other.

When Cas was done, he moved onto the exposed part of Dean’s chest, stopping just where the water hit Dean’s nipples. It wasn’t sexy, despite Dean being nude and the expectation that things would be leading to some truly spectacular sex. It’s nothing but soft and comforting.

When Cas nudged him forward, he hugged his knees and gave him access to his back. Cas dug his soapy thumbs into his muscles, sliding along his shoulder blades and down his spine, stopping just before his ass. He made the same sweep a few times, alternating between soft passes, and pressing so hard Dean couldn’t help but groan from the mixture of pleasure and pain. The next thing he knew, warm water was being dumped over his head, and fingers were massaging shampoo into his short hair. Once he was done, Cas prompted Dean to rinse.

Sinking back until his chin was touching the water, he lifted his leg and placed it in Cas’s hands. He lathered his hands and began at his foot, running lightly over the arch and then through his toes.

Dean hissed and jerked his foot away. “Press harder, would you?”

Cas smiled at him. “I forgot how ticklish you are.”

“I’m not ticklish…” Dean muttered but put his foot back into Cas’s hand so he could continue. “I just don’t like people touching my feet.”

“So you didn’t like that foot rub I gave you last night?”

Dean folded his arms across his chest and choose to remain silent.

“You don’t have to hide from me, my love.” Putting both legs back in the warm water, he knelt back onto his haunches. “Would you kneel for a moment? I need to clean the rest of you.”

He smirked and got to his knees, exposing the areas Cas had yet to clean. Cas ran his sudsy hands over Dean’s crotch, cleaning everything very perfunctorily. As soon as Dean was as squeaky as he was going to be, Dean sat back down and reclined against the wall of the tub.

“So…” he began. “You still ok with all of this?”

Cas let his fingers trail through the water, interrupting the thin film of soap at the surface. “I’ve waited for my whole life.”

Dean cracked a smile. “Your whole earth life, or since your creation? Because I gotta say, one is way more impressive than the other…”

He rolled his eyes. “The latter of the two.”

“So no pressure, then.”

“Absolutely no pressure.”

“Easy for you to say…” he mumbled.

Cas reached up to brush Dean’s damp hair affectionately. “Are you nervous?”

“Definitely not,” he lied.

“Good, because I think things will go quite well.” Cas let his hand drop. “Unless you are having second thoughts?”

Dean wanted to laugh at that. “I’m more worried about _you_ having second thoughts…”

“I won't.”

“But what if?” he asks. “There are billions of humans on earth. How are you so sure _I’m_ the one?”

“Is this why you are so nervous? Because you think I’ll regret my choice?”

Dean bit his lip, annoyed that Cas had seen through him so easily. “Will you?”

“Never,” he insisted. “I could never regret a second with you.”

Dean flushed red at Cas’s words. “Ok.”

“Why do I get the feeling you still don’t believe me?”

“I do…”

“Dean.”

He sighed. “I want this, ok? I just can't believe that someone like you would want to settle down with me.”

“Believe me,” Cas pleaded, “you are everything I want in a mate. You’re unbelievingly generous… not just to your family, but to everyone. You have such a capacity for caring and despite the turns your life has taken, you always see the beauty in things. You’re loyal and patient, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. There was no way Cas saw that in him, was there? Sure, he’d admit that he was loyal, and maybe even patient… but everything else? Seemed like a longshot to him. “There’s no turning back, Cas. I’m kinda an asshole, and sometimes I don’t know when to shut my damn mouth… When I get angry, I lash out and-”

“Stop,” he cut in. “I know all of these things, just like you know my faults. I want _you_, Dean, no one else.”

Dean deflated, all of his fight gone. Just the fact that Cas knew Dean was a bit of an ass and _still _wanted him, meant that maybe he needed to quit looking the gift horse in the mouth. “Alright.”

Cas finally seemed satisfied. “Lay back and relax, Dean. Try to clear your mind. We’ll move on in a few minutes.”

Dean did as he was told and closed his eyes. The warm water, smelling slightly of honey, soon lulled him into a drowsy state. His worry was still there, in the back of his mind, but it no longer stemmed from his doubt about Cas. No, the anxiety of being Cas’s first time was now at the forefront. “So… are you ready for all of this?”

“I believe so,” Cas answered, his voice low. “I’m looking forward to it.”

He smiled and cracked open his eyes. “What part?”

“All of it,” he admitted. “This was wonderful, but I very much want to mark you with my oils, and feel you groom my wings.”

“What about the sex?” he prodded. “Looking forward to that?”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll tell me if I do anything you don’t like, right?”

“Yes, Dean, and you will do the same.” It wasn’t a question. “I trust you.”

Dean sighed in relief. “Awesome. I wasn’t planning on doing anything freaky, but that’s still good to know.”

“What would you consider ‘freaky?’” Cas asked, interest clear in his voice.

Dean squirmed a bit, trying to ignore the arousal simmering in his blood. “Let's not talk about that right now, ok?”

“What _are_ you planning on doing, then?”

Dean sighed. “Well, after you fingerpaint on me, I was planning on giving you a massage.”

“A massage?”

He nodded and let his eyes slip shut. “You gotta be nice and relaxed if we’re going to do this. If you’re not, it’ll hurt like a bitch.”

“That’s not necessary,” he cut in, “I can relax my muscles at will.”

Dean snorted, thinking back to his first time. He would have _really_ appreciated a nice massage beforehand. “We’ll see about that… you try relaxing your ass when someone’s pushing a cock into you.”

He received a small splash of bathwater at his crude words. “I think I’ll manage.”

Dean laughed and wiped the droplets off of his face. “Come on, man. Let me do this for you. I love foreplay.”

Cas sighed. “If this is something you want to do for me, then I’ll let you.”

“Thanks, Cas.” He sunk further into the tub and let out a pleased moan. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

Hands brushed his chest, and he cracked an eye open to watch Cas stroke over his skin. “What else are you going to do for me?”

He smirked. “I was thinking after the massage, I could finger you a bit. Give you a little preview, see how you like it. I mean, not everyone likes stuff in their ass so if I get my finger in there and you don’t like it, you gotta tell me. We’ll figure something else out. I’m 100% fine with you fucking me instead.”

“And then?”

He had to fight his need to reach down and touch his hardening cock. “Want you to sit on my cock and ride me.”

Cas’s fingers brushed over a nipple, and Dean shuddered. “Have you thought about this?”

“Fuck yeah, I have.” He moaned as Cas’s fingers pinched the sensitive nub. “Thought about it all week. Ever since we set a date.”

Cas hummed in response. “I’ve thought about it too. Every time I touch you, I wonder what it would be like to feel you inside of me… to be inside of you. I think of it often.”

Dean sat up. “Am I clean enough, Cas?”

Cas nodded. “Let us retire to the bedroom.”

He groaned and stood, barely pausing to grab his towel before stepping out of the tub. He wanted to be sexy, to do a little tease and get Cas in the mood, but if the dark intensity of Cas’s eyes were anything to go by, it wasn’t needed. He ran the towel roughly over his skin, wiping up the water as quickly as possible, and then dropped the towel at his feet. Completely naked and working his way up to a halfie, he grabbed Cas’s hand and dragged him through the door and into the bedroom.

“Get undressed, Cas,” he begged. “Come on.”

Cas nodded and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Before we begin, I need to let you know exactly what will be happening.” He pulled the shirt off and started on his pants. “First, you will need to reciprocate the cleansing and groom me, then I will need to anoint you with my oil. I will draw symbols on your chest and forehead, and then we may mate.”

“It's not going to hurt, right?”

He kicked his pants away and stood in his white boxer briefs. “If it does, then I’m doing it wrong. When I share my grace, you will feel the warmth of it entering your chest and your extremities might tingle, but there should be no pain.”

“Exactly how much grace am I getting? Will I be able to teleport, or anything like that?”

“You’ll be getting almost a quarter of my grace. Not enough to travel as I do, but I _have _heard of humans being able to heal themselves in dire circumstances. Let's hope we never have to test that.”

“And you’ll have to start eating?”

“And sleeping,” he confirmed. “While I can eat now, the grace inside me burns it away before my body even gets the chance to digest it. With my grace depleted, I should start to feel small amounts of hunger. You may find yourself needing less food and sleep. Every human is different.”

“Do I get super strength?”

Cas frowned. “No, that’s- oh, you’re joking. I see.”

Dean smirked. “Got it in one.”

Cas pursed his lips. “Any more questions before we begin?”

“Sam said it’s intense…”

“You talked to your brother about his mating?”

Dean blushed. “Only a little. I didn’t want to know _too _much.”

Cas took his hand and led him to the bed, pushing him until his legs hit the mattress and he was forced to sit. “Every mating is different, so you shouldn’t compare experiences, but yes… it will be intense.”

“In a good way?”

Cas smiled and knelt in front of him. “A very good way.”

Dean watched as Cas turned his back to him and settled comfortably in the space between his legs, presenting his wings for the grooming. “What are you doing? You don’t want to lie down?”

“We can’t do this on the bed. Your fingers always feel wonderful on my wings, and I fear that I won’t be able to control myself. We _have_ to do this right, so I’m not getting on that bed until I anoint you.”

Dean let out a breath and bit back his groan, remembering all of the times a simple grooming session had turned into a tumble in the sheets. “Smart. So how do I…”

“Give me your hand I’ll show you where to find the gland.”

Dean allowed Cas to guide his hand to the base of his wings, and after parting the feathers, Cas helped him search around for the oil gland. As soon as Dean’s fingers brushed the nub, they became slick with a gush of oil. Cas shuddered at the sensation. “You ok there, Cas?”

He nodded. “It feels very different when I express the oil myself.”

“Does Gabe use your oil?”

“Definitely not. Wing oil is only used between mates. Gabriel uses commercial wing oils when he grooms me, and if anything needs a touch-up, I can use my oil.”

Dean smirked, happy that he was the only one to get to touch Cas like that, and pressed again, gathering more oil and watching the way goosebumps worked their way down Cas’s arms. Withdrawing, he rubbed his palms together to coat them in oil and ran them through Cas’s feathers. Cas sighed at the feeling and let his head lull forward.

He worked on the base of his wings for a moment before clearing his throat, gaining Cas’s attention. “Is it weird that I _don’t _think this is weird?”

Cas took a moment to reply, and when he did, his voice was pitched low and breathy. “I’m glad you don’t find it weird, although I can see how some would think that.”

“It’s literally coming out of your body, Cas.” He pointed out and then went for more. “I should probably think it's weird.”

“We’ve exchanged oral sex,” Cas deadpanned. “You’ve hinted that you want to put your mouth on my asshole…

Dean paused for a second before laughing, “Yeah, ok. You got me there.”

Cas sighed as Dean worked at the arch, running his fingers through the stiff feathers, and working down towards the tips. He repeated the process, bringing Cas’s already beautiful wings to a glossy shine. After the arches were as neat as they were going to get, he got more oil and went to work on the rest. Cas’s head was resting on his knees, and he could hear the relaxed breathing and content sighs coming from his mouth. It took him fifteen minutes to finish with one wing, but the results were amazing. The oils from Heavenly Raiment had _never_ got Cas’s feathers looking like that.

“We’re going to have to use your wing oil more often because your wings look awesome!”

Cas looked over at his shoulder, locking eyes with Dean. His pupils were blown and his lips were parted and spit-damp. “Please hurry, Dean.”

Wide-eyed, Dean got to work, going as quickly as he could without doing a shitty job. With the proper motivation, he was able to finish the other wing in only ten minutes. The minute he pulled his hands away from the glossy feathers, Cas shot to his feet. He was flushed from his face all the way down his neck to his shoulders, his nipples were hard, and his chest was heaving. Glancing down, Dean’s eyes locked on the tent of his boxer briefs, and licked his lips with anticipation.

“Lay on your back.” Cas’s gruff voice commanded.

Totally on board with that command, Dean pushed back and laid so his head was resting on the pillow. Once Cas saw he was comfortable, he knelt on the bed and reached back to stimulate his gland, drawing his fingers away coated with the oil.

He reached forward and touched his forehead, leaving behind a warm slickness when he drew away. The next mark started under his chin. He swallowed heavily as Cas drew his fingers gently down his throat, between his collarbones, and then finally stopped at his navel. He circled around his belly button in a wide curve and then turned towards his groin at a sharp angle. He suffered the sensation in silence, hoping Cas would ignore his raging boner and finish quickly. He _really_ wanted to get the show on the road.

“What are you drawing?” Dean asked once Cas moved up to the area above his left peck. He _had_ to get his mind off the slide of Cas’s fingers on his skin.

“It’s a pentagram… a protection symbol,” Cas answered, his tone sharp with impatience. “The one around your navel is for strength.”

“Do I need to do this to you?” He asked, nerves spiking in his stomach. There was no way Dean would be able to draw a symbol on him without accidentally summoning a demon or something.

“Don’t worry. This is something only done by an angel for their human mate. It helps to prepare your body for my grace. Without it, you could get hurt.” Cas finished the markings and moved to the other side. “On this side, I will be writing my name which will further ensure the process goes smoothly.”

Dean snorted in amusement. “Writing your name on my chest? Want to pee on me while you're at it?”

Cas leaned back and regarded him very seriously. “While I am open to many sexual acts, watersports are not something I’m willing to try.”

Dean balked. “No! God, Cas… it was a joke. I didn’t mean I wanted you to pee on me. Shit… how do you even know what watersports are?”

“I’ve been researching.” He tentatively made his way back into position and finished the symbol that represented his name. “I’m almost done.”

Dean sighed in relief with the subject change. “Then we can…”

Cas smiled. “Yes, Dean. After I am finished, we can have intercourse.”

“Sex, Cas… just say sex.”

“We can join intimately.”

Dean huffed. “You’re a brat, you know that?”

“Yes. I do.” He drew his fingers away from Dean’s chest and wiped his excess oil onto his thigh. “I am finished.”

Dean sat up and looked down at his chest. His chest looked shiny with the oils and he smelled exactly like Cas. Earthy and sweet from the honey soap. “If this smears, will you have to do it again?”

“No. It's in your skin, now.”

“Good…” he reached forward for Cas. “Come here…”

Cas boxed Dean’s head in with his arms and dipped down for a kiss, settling on all fours above him. Dean lifted his head eagerly to meet him, opening his mouth for Cas’s tongue as soon as he felt it touch his bottom lip. They kissed slowly for a few moments, just enjoying the smooth slide of their lips. Dean would have been content to continue as they were, but the oil on his chest was strangely warm and beginning to tingle, reminding him of their goal for the night.

He let his fingers trail up Cas’s back and grip at the base of his wings. With a tug, he pulled Cas into him, pressing their chests together and enjoying the slide that Cas’s oil was giving them. Dean sighed into Cas’s mouth and rutted against him, pausing suddenly when he felt cotton. “Cas… are you still wearing underwear?”

Cas pushed up and looked between their bodies as if he had forgotten all about the fabric separating their cocks. “It seems so.”

“Take em off, Cas. Don’t keep me waiting.”

He watched as Cas stood and pushed them off his hips, toeing them away when they pooled on the floor. Resting back on his elbows, Dean cocked his head to the side and gave him a smirk. “Now lay on your stomach, babe. I want to give you that message I promised.”

Cas let out a low groan and then crawled onto the bed, settling onto his stomach and splaying his wings until he was comfortable. “If this feels anything like the grooming did, then I don’t know how much I’ll be able to handle.”

Dean smirked and reached over to grab the massage oil he had bought that morning, a mixture of jojoba and essential oils that left his hands smelling of citrus, and then grabbed the lube while he was at it, placing it in the bed next to his knee. “You’re going to love this.”

Rubbing his hands together to warm the oil, Dean decided to start with Cas’s feet and then work his way up. He’d skip over Cas’s back and shoulders completely, since the grooming included a lot of that area, besides… once he got to Cas’s ass he was sure things would escalate quickly.

Picking up Cas’s foot, he cupped it in his hands and dug his thumbs into the arch. Cas’s whole leg twitched and he let out an obscene groan. Dean smiled and did it again, watching as he shifted restlessly against the comforter, his wings twitching at the tips in pleasure. He moved down to the heel and circled it a few times before sweeping up until he reached the toes. Once he paid the digits some attention, he went right back to pressing his thumbs into the arch and dragging them upward. Cas went from groaning to letting out little pleasured mewls, the sound going straight to Dean’s dick.

Placing Cas’s foot back against the bed, he picked up the other one and began the same process, drawing more and more moans out of Cas until when he released it, the foot fell with a flop against the mattress. Pleased with himself, he moved on to Cas’s calves, applying more oil and then sweeping his palms through the wiry hair. Dean spent a moment brushing over the sensitive skin behind the angel's knee, enjoying the grumpy complaint that was too quiet for him to understand. Amused, he did the same with Cas’s ankle, massaging the tendon above his heel, and listening to the impatient huff coming from Cas.

He teased Cas until his own impatience got to him and he was ready to move on. He reapplied the oil and caressed the skin behind Cas’s knees once more before following the line of muscle that led to the globes of Cas’s ass. He pressed harder, letting the heel of his hand dig into the muscle and stopped the slow glide just at the crease where Cas’s ass began. He repeated the process, much to Cas’s frustration, and avoided going any further.

“Dean!” he grumbled, turning his head to look at him. “Don’t tease me.”

He smiled at Cas. “I’m not teasing, Cas. I’ll get there.”

He drew back for a moment, content to look at the glistening skin in front of him. Cas’s muscle tone was truly a wonder, and he couldn’t help but give Cas’s thick thighs a nice squeeze. Shaking himself out of it, he squeezed more oil onto his hands and got back to work on pushing the palms of his hands into the meat of his thighs.

Fortunately for Cas, Dean had no wish to draw things out _too_ much, so the minute Cas began to shift his hips impatiently, he decided to move onto the main event. He pressed each thumb into the round muscles and pulled, spreading Cas’s cheeks and leaving him exposed to Dean’s gaze. Cas clenched in surprise, so Dean released him and soothed his thumbs lightly over Cas’s skin in apology. “Relax.”

He could see Cas nod out of the corner of his eyes, so he repeated the process, thumbing his cheeks apart and looking his fill. Releasing again, he pressed the heels of his palms into the flesh at his hips and slid through the oil to rest just at the base of his spine. Cas let out a low moan and pushed his hips back into Dean’s touch, begging for more.

“Get up, Cas… on your hands and knees.” He told him, grabbing a pillow and readying it to be put under his hips. Cas pushed onto his knees, showing off his fantastic ass, and then got onto all fours. Dean paused to stare at the curve of his spine and the rigid length of his hard cock hanging heavy between his legs. “Shit, babe. You look…”

“Dean.” It was the desperate groan of his name that kicked his brain back into motion. He put the pillow onto the bed and had Cas lower back down until it rested under his hips. Once Cas had shifted into a comfortable position, he let his gaze sweep over him to admire the view. Cas’s shoulders were pressed into the bed and his head was turned to the side. His lips were parted and his eyes were dark and hooded. Dean’s gaze followed the knobs of his spine down to the dip of his lower back, and finally landed back on Cas’s ass. The new angle gave him the full view of Cas’s hole, dusty pink and wet with massage oil. Below, Cas’s balls peeked out from between his legs, pushed into the soft pillow and skin tight with arousal.

Dean took the opportunity to pick up the bottle of lube and put a dollop onto his fingertips, rubbing them together to warm it before he touched Cas. He started at the top of Cas’s crack, trailing a finger down until he was just about to touch the furled skin of Cas’s hole, and then stopped to repeat the process. Cas made a noise of protest, and arched his back further, offering his ass to Dean. He let his thumb brush over the opening lightly before trailing his wet digit down to stroke over Cas’s balls. He cupped and rolled them gently, watching with satisfaction as Cas shifted on the pillow, no doubt rubbing his erection against the comforter.

He repeated the movement over and over until Cas was so used to the feeling of Dean touching his hole that he didn’t even twitch. When he was satisfied that Cas was ready for a little pressure, he allowed his finger to pause over Cas’s hole, and press lightly using the pad of his thumb. Cas clenched under his finger and hissed out a curse.

“You like that?” He pushed a bit harder, watching the muscle twitch beneath. “Think you can handle a finger?”

Cas groaned. “Yes! Please…”

Dean shuddered at the sound of Cas’s gravely voice begging. “Fuck… you ask so nicely.”

He nodded against the comforter, his lip between his teeth. “Please, Dean.”

Withdrawing to add a bit more lube, he brought his index finger to Cas’s hole and pressed the tip to the furled muscles, applying only light pressure until Cas visibly relaxed. After a moment, the angel let out a sigh and forced himself to go limp. Taking his chance, Dean held his breath and gently speared his finger into Cas’s hole.

“Dean!” Cas cried, his wings tensing.

He withdrew his finger and rubbed some of the lube onto Cas’s hole before dipping it back in and keeping the penetration shallow. It seemed like Cas was right about being able to relax his muscles at will because his finger went in and out easily. So easily, in fact, that he pushed it in up to the second knuckle with no resistance.

“How you doing, Cas?”

He moaned in reply, pushing himself onto Dean’s finger just a fraction. Dean responded by drawing back, and then pressing back in, slowly fucking in and out of Cas with the digit.

“Talk to me, Cas…” He ran his thumb over his hole once again. “How does it feel?”

“Strange…” he answered after a pause.

Dean bit his lip and mentally prepared himself to change gears. He hadn’t been lying when he told Cas he’d be more than willing to let Cas fuck him. “Good strange, or bad strange?”

“Good.”

He sighed in relief. “Awesome. How about this?” He pressed his finger back into Cas and probed for a moment. He knew exactly when he found Cas’s prostate because the angel sucked in a breath and his wings went rigid.

“Oh!”

Dean smirked. “You like that?”

“That felt...” He shifted forward, stimulating his neglected cock. “That felt good, Dean.”

He brushed past it again, barely touching it. “Just wait till I get you warmed up. It gets better… trust me.”

Cas shuddered and pushed his ass back, pleading for more. “There's more?”

Dean chuckled. “Oh, yeah… there's more.”

He sped up his finger, pressing in and pulling back out over and over as Cas squirmed until-

“Dean, stop.”

He froze, finger still in Cas’s ass because he was afraid to move. “You ok, babe?”

“I need to see you!” Cas’s body clenched around Dean’s finger. “Let me roll over.”

Dean sighed in relief and slowly removed his finger, using Cas’s maneuvering as an occasion to apply more lube. Once Cas had tossed the pillow out of the way and settled on his back, he turned to Dean for instruction. “How do you want me?”

“Fuck, Cas.” He reached down to stroke lightly over his cock. “Grab your knees and spread ‘em.”

Cas locked eyes with Dean, and drew his knees into his chest, looping his hands under his knees before parting them. His eyes went straight to Cas’s cock, pink and slick with precome. He reached out and grasped it, giving it a tight stroke with his hand. Cas threw his head back, groaning loudly in pleasure. After a few strokes, he softened his grip and brought his finger back to Cas’s hole. Dean rubbed over it lightly to let Cas prepare for the intrusion and then pressed back in, letting his finger sink to the hilt. Cas cried out, covering Dean’s soft moan, and drew his knees higher in an attempt to offer more of himself to Dean.

He pushed his finger in and out, angling it up every few strokes, lightly brushing over Cas’s prostate at an almost random interval. Cas’s chest was breaking out in a sweat at the feeling, and his hips were rocking against the fist that continued its relentless stroking. He paused with the finger fucking and bent down to run his tongue over Cas’s balls. The angel wailed with pleasure, his broken cries echoing off of the bedroom walls. Dean smirked against the wrinkled skin and opened wide to take them into his mouth, concentrating on running his tongue over one side and jacking off his soon-to-be mate.

He drew back to catch his breath and watched his finger push in and out of his angel's body. Dean’s mouth watered at the sight, and he promised himself to bring up the possibility of rimming later.

“Want to finish like this, Cas?” he asked, breathless with arousal. “I can suck your dick and get you off…”

Cas moaned and pushed down against him before thrusting back up into Dean’s fist.

“Dean! Please!” He pushed his chest up and turned to look at Dean, his eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I’m ready.”

“You sure? We can add another finger if you want.”

“Now, Dean.”

Dean gulped at the commanding tone. “Ok, yeah… let me lay down and you can ride me.”

“You still want me to ride your cock?”

“Fuck, yes.” Dean rolled onto his back and stroked his cock. “Give me the lube.”

Cas grabbed the bottle and snapped the lid open. He squeezed a blob of the clear gel onto his fingers before reaching down to grasp Dean’s dick. Slicking it up liberally, he straddled Dean’s hips and took a firm hold on his cock. “Stay still.”

“Yeah, okay…” he replied breathlessly. “Just go slow.”

He nodded and guided Dean’s cock to his entrance, letting out a breath before lowering himself. Dean grasped for the sheets, gripping them in his fist just so he could have something to concentrate on so he didn’t thrust himself into Cas immediately. The tight heat enveloped the head of his dick, and when Cas paused to get his bearings, Dean let out a loud gasp. “Fuck.”

Cas panted above him. “This is much larger than your finger.”

“Yeah, baby.” He pressed his thumbs into the flesh just above Cas’s hip bone, making the sharp line stand out even more. “Just go slow, ok? And if you don’t like it, we’ll do something else.”

Cas sank down slowly, centimeter by centimeter, and let his body adjust to the intrusion. Once Dean was halfway inside Cas, the angel paused and adjusted his knees, Dean's cock immediately slipped in further. Dean let out a slightly hysterical laugh, the pleasure filling his body making him delirious. “You ok, Cas?”

Cas let himself sink down another fraction, and this time, he groaned. “Yes! Ah! It's not very painful, it's just intense.”

Dean moaned at Cas’s words. “Take your time, we got all night.”

More than halfway down, his chest was heaving and a light sheen of sweat covered his chest and face. Dean forced himself to clench his fists and remain still, despite his body telling itself to grab Cas by those hip bones of his and thrust into him like a madman. He tried not to stare at where his cock was sliding into Cas, but it was a lost cause. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from the sight of his dick disappearing into the tight heat of Cas’s body, the furled skin of his hole stretching to accommodate Dean.

Finally, minutes after they began, Dean was seated in Cas as the angel braced against his chest and moaned desperately. “So full…”

Dean squeezed Cas’s hips and breathed through the urge to thrust. “Whenever you're ready.”

Cas’s muscles clenched around him, and Dean couldn’t help but cry out. Cas’s eyes snapped open to meet his, a faint glow already lighting them up from within. Eyes locked, Cas pressed onto Dean’s chest and lifted himself up an inch before pausing and lowering himself slowly. “Oh…”

“Good?” Dean asked, his teeth clenched.

Cas nodded and rose again, this time coming straight back down only to do it again… and again. He removed his hands and leaned forward to put them on the bed beside Dean, clenching his fingers around the sheet and dropping his head. “Oh, Dean. It's starting to feel good.”

Dean closed his eyes and reminded himself to stay still, to let Cas set the pace, but the slack-jawed awe in Cas’s face was making it impossibly hard. “Keep going, Cas.”

He rose again, this time higher, before coming down faster, almost slamming himself onto Dean’s hips. “Dean!”

Cas’s wings strained behind him, flexing and flapping, and sending erratic gusts of air over Dean, chilling the sweat gathering on his chest. His nipples hardened at the sensation, and he brought one hand up to pinch. Cas let out a breath at the sight of Dean tugging one pebbled nipple and reached up to pinch his own. He pulled hard and cried out at the overwhelming sensation of pain and pleasure. Releasing his supporting hold on Dean’s chest, he pinched the other one, his wings flapping to steady himself after losing the support of his hands on Dean’s chest.

From somewhere, he heard the heavy thud of something falling to the floor, but he didn’t care. All of his erotic fantasies were coming true, and he didn’t even have to ask. Above him, Cas’s thighs flexed as he lifted and lowered himself, his massive wings giving him even more power, letting him get even more height. The wind blew in Dean’s bedroom, and something else crashed to the floor, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the beauty of Cas above him, eyes glowing in pleasure, and his giant wings lifting him only to impale himself on Dean’s cock.

Despite being experienced in bed, Dean had never felt this way with one of his partners. Even Rhonda, who had given him some of the best sex of his life, paled in comparison. And sure, she had liked to get him on his hands and knees and fuck him with a neon pink dildo until he was nearly in tears from wanting to come, and only _then_ would she take off the strap-on and allow him to fuck her… but even that memory had _nothing_ on the perfect slide of ass clenching around his length, or the sight of glowing eyes and a hard dick bobbing with every bounce.

He reached out to grasp Cas’s cock and the angel threw his head back in response, letting out a soft “Ah!” of pleasure. He used the moisture of Cas’s precome to stroke over his cock, squeezing and twisting at the tip. Cas’s hips stuttered, his rhythm slowing and then speeding up, working his prostate over and over as the pleasure spiked.

“Dean!” Cas called, voice cracked and frenzied. He flapped his wings harder, almost coming off Dean’s dick, and slammed back down. Circling his hips, he ground onto Dean, throwing his head back at the pleasure he was taking from Dean.

It was a combination of everything — the flush in his chest, the sheen of sweat glistening on his face against the lamplight — that sent his arousal up a notch. Cas was beautiful in his pleasure, and Dean knew that what he was doing was right. _Cas_ was right. Any lingering doubt, any whatsoever, that what he was doing was wrong, it was gone. He had no doubt that the angel above him, taking pleasure in his body, was his. _Forever._

Dean squeezed Cas’s cock harder and tugged faster, trying desperately to bring him to his finish. He was only a handful of seconds away from coming himself, but he wanted — no, needed — Cas to come first.

Cas’s movements started to become erratic, some fast, and some of his lifts so slow, Dean had to squeeze his eyes shut and bite out a curse at the slide. It kept him right on the edge, close to spilling inside Cas’s tight channel. It soon became too much for Cas to handle. His wings no longer wanted to cooperate, and they stopped their flapping in favor of snapping out, every muscle and tendon stretching in a wide arc. The lack of movement sent Cas down on Dean’s dick hard, knocking the breath out of them both.

He grasped at Dean’s arm and found purchase on the space between Dean’s shoulder and bicep, his fingers digging into the muscle. Dean was sure it would bruise, but he didn’t care. He was close to floating away, and the sharp pain grounded him back into the moment, to the tight slide of Cas’s body.

“I’m c-close!” Cas stuttered, his legs working to ride Dean. “Dean!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck-” he chanted. Dean’s orgasm was speeding closer and closer, and he wasn’t sure if he could hold it back.

Cas let out a strangled noise from above him. “Close your eyes!”

Dean complied, not sure he could keep them open even if he tried. A light behind his eyelids grew brighter and brighter until his eyes began to water. A tear trickled down his temple and into his hair, followed closely by another. “Cas!”

His back arched and his leg muscles locked up. A tingling started in his fingers and toes, and worked its way up his body and into his chest. Suddenly, he was hit with warmth. Pure heat radiated through his chest and he couldn’t hold back his orgasm. He almost missed the throbbing of his release through all of the other sensations coursing through his body. A high pitched ringing pierced through his mind, like a microphone on feedback, and he whimpered at the noise. It trailed off into nothingness, his ears full and his mind on overdrive.

Finally, everything stopped. He was boneless beneath Cas, unable to move, and barely able to catch his breath. The noise of blood pumping through his ears quieted enough to hear Cas, panting and mewling on top of him, Dean’s cock still hard in his ass.

Dean blinked his eyes open, his vision blurred with tears, and focused on the blob that was Cas. “Cas?”

Cas let out a sigh from above him and lifted so Dean could slip out. Dean’s eyes focused just in time to see a trail of his cum drip down Cas’s inner thigh. If he hadn’t just had the best orgasm of his life, that sight alone would get the arousal pumping back through his veins. Even so, his dick gave a valiant twitch.

Collapsing beside Dean, and turning towards him to nestle into his side, Cas let out a pleased hum. “That was nice.”

Dean huffed and reached out to pet Cas’s wings. “Nice? That was fucking awesome.”

“Indeed.”

“Did we…” he gulped. “Are we mates now?”

Cas nodded against his collar bone. “We are. You now carry both my mark and my grace. We are tied together.”

Dean let his eyes slip shut and reveled in the butterflies that filled his chest. Part of Cas was inside him, coursing through his veins. As Cas had said, they were tied together… stuck with one another. A goofy smile tilted his lips. “Awesome.”

His mate huffed at him. “Yes, very awesome.”

A thought suddenly formed. “Uh… where did you put the mark?”

“Wherever I was grabbing when we reached completion.”

“Reached completion.” He repeated with a laugh. “Never change, Cas.”

Fingers trailed over his arm, just where his bicep met the meat of his shoulder. Drawn to the gentle touch, he craned his neck and saw Cas tracing over the mating mark. Pink and angry looking, the handprint stood out starkly against his pale and freckled skin. He watched in fascination and Cas drew his hand away and kissed over the raised skin. Locking eyes, Cas opened his mouth and licked a stripe up the palm of the mark. Dean shivered at the tingles that traveled down his whole arm.

“Wow. Will it always feel that way? Because I can get on board with that.”

“I wouldn’t know. Perhaps you should ask Sam.”

Dean’s eyes widened, suddenly picturing Gabe licking the mark on his brother's ass. “Shit… nevermind. I’ll find out on my own.”

Cas’s brows knit together in confusion. “As you wish, Dean.”

God, he really needed to get Cas to watch The Princess Bride. “Get back down here.”

Cas settled back into Dean’s side and let out a sigh, the air cooling the pool of Cas’s come currently cementing itself into the hair leading to his dick. “Fuck, we’re going to have to clean up, but I really don’t want to get up.”

“We should start keeping wet wipes and hand towels in the bedside table,” Cas suggests. “Then we won’t have to interrupt the post-coital snuggling.”

“Can’t you just…” he waved his hand over the mess. “Magic it away?”

“You have grace now, why don’t _you _‘magic’ it away?”

“Touche…” Dean sighed. “Well, one of us has to get up.”

“My legs are tired.”

He groaned. “You’re an angel… just teleport.”

“Is this what being mated to you is going to be like?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“Rock paper scissors?”

“It’s not my chest that is covered in semen…”

“Come on, Cas. Please?”

“Perhaps we can enjoy a hot shower together?”

Dean smiled at his mate. He was a freaking genius. A beautiful genius. “Have I told you that I love you? Because I do.”

Cas smiled into Dean’s chest, his wings puffing. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> I have two stories planned for December. One is a Christmas fic, and the other is part 20 of my Fo3 verse (go and read it if you haven't already!!!).
> 
> Comment and let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I appreciate everyone's comments!


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